Sanctum
by Greened Ink
Summary: Nikola Tesla and Helen Magnus have been friends for more than a century, and sometimes, there were simply no words to explain them. Rating for serious whump and flirtatious dialogue. Helen/Tesla
1. Shocking

Author's Note: I guess I started writing this because I think Nikola is adorable. At least when he's not being a punk and threatening Helen's life. Even then, I usually just think he's a jerk for a moment or two, then move on. I'll be trying to update regularly, though I promise nothing. Their banter is very hard to write even if it's entertaining to hear; especially as Nikola also tends to be more sarcastic and witty than I think I'm capable of constantly writing. Let me know if I'm getting it right or wrong. And I know, cheesy title for this chapter, but I just couldn't help myself.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Shocking

He had everything he needed, all the right tools, all the careful supplies stacked neatly near him. Surrounded in his lab by everything that was necessary for this particular project would normally fill him with a sense of cockiness. He was Nikola Tesla, after all. A vampire genius. Even among his own kind, which were so intelligent and sophisticated it made humans still look like the neanderthals they came from, he was special.

So why the hell couldn't he figure out why this damn contraption wouldn't work? One more shock and he swore he was going to toss it out the window and be done with it. It didn't hurt at all, of course. He was a vampire and could withstand voltage much, _much_ higher than this. No, it was the principal of the matter. This thing was just being stubborn and insulting him on top of that was going too far. His tools swung with practiced precision over the complex wiring, hooking the power supply back up and tweaking the connection like it was child's play. Which to him, such a simple thing should have been, but all the lousy thing did was glow for a minute, then shock him again and die.

"Damn, bloody piece of banshee excrement!" He cursed, his eyes darkening and claws partly forming in his anger. Immediately, his vision expanded. He felt energy and strength surge through him. Growling, he scattered several instruments to the floor, feeling satisfaction at the sound of splintering wood from the edge of the table and shattering glass. Grabbing the device he had been working on, he moved to make good on his non-verbal threat by chucking it out the window, but there was a knock at the door. The unexpected sound was enough to startle him back into the right frame of mind. With a disgusted grunt he tossed the thing back onto the table and jerked open the door. "What part of 'no interruptions' did you not understand?" He snapped angrily.

The maid of the household shrunk away slightly at his tone, but squared her shoulders a little and answered in a quiet voice. "There's someone at the door for you, sir. I told her you were busy, but she said it was urgent. Said you would want to see her."

He just raised an eyebrow at that. Who on earth knew he was even here? Then again, who would he want to see, and know it? Though he had a sneaking suspicion of who it was calling at his door at- he glanced at the clock in the hall- four in the morning, he nonetheless followed the maid downstairs.

Sure enough, there leaning almost casually against a wall near the front door, dressed from neck to toe in black, was none other than Helen Magnus. As beautiful as ever.

He smiled as he approached. "Only you, Helen, would turn up to see me in the middle of the night and still have the audacity to interrupt my work."

"And only you, Nikola, would still be working at such a beastly hour of the night." She remarked with a strained grin.

Still several steps from her, he rocked to a sudden halt. He lifted his head just the slightest bit and sniffed again, just to be sure. Oh yes, he could smell it on the air like a cloak, masked at first whiff by the scent of rain and water from outside. Blood. He sharpened his eyes, his focus, on his oldest friend and realized for the first time that she wasn't so much leaning against the wall as using said wall to hold herself up on her feet. He furrowed his brow. "Helen?"

She just smiled, like she was pleased he had figured it out.

"Are you-?" He stopped.

Again, that smile that crinkled the edge of her eyes. "Sorry about this." The murmur barely passed her lips before she promptly collapsed to the floor.

-((-))-


	2. Bleeding

Author's Note: Wow, you guys like it huh? Cool. Here's another one, just cause you guys are cute when you're left hanging.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Bleeding

Seated in an old armchair near the window, Nikola stared out at the moon. It was a clear night, with only a few clouds scuttling along toward the west to block out the light of the stars. The landscape around them was lit up by the glow of the moon like it was the celestial rock itself. He could tell you why, or how, that was. He could explain the movements of the stars, the shifting of the earth, the growth of the plants beyond the front door, but... he couldn't tell you how Helen Magnus worked. He had never been able to anticipate that confounded woman. One minute she was kicking butt and taking names, the next she was risking her life for some poisonous little cretins who would probably kill her on sight without so much as a pause. Then showing up at his door, of all places.

Damn that woman really had timing. A glance back in her direction showed that she was still sleeping. He looked back out the window for a full minute before returning his eyes to her and allowing them to linger. She was pale in the moonlight, even more so than usual. The effects of her blood loss seemed to have caught up with her. She had come very close to bleeding to death as he struggled to remove the bullet, which was why her skin lacked so much color. Especially compared to the flushed rouge that had been staining her cheeks for the past few days. The poison in her system had brought on a fever that spiked dangerously high before fading away as though it had never been.

The whole thing made him very angry. Seeing her laid out on his table like that had sent a thrill of fear down his spine he did not appreciate. Not to mention having to dig around in her flesh for the bullet. It hadn't gone deep, barely more than a graze, but still. It was hard enough trying to clean the poison out of the tears in her skin. The necessary pressure only made the wounds bleed more, sluggish red life seeping out onto the cold metal. He shuddered a little at the memory.

Though her features were peaceful in sleep, he eyed her warily as he stood and moved closer to her side. The last thing he wanted right now was for her to wake up and find him staring at her. Yet still, after staying by her side for so long, worried she might slip away, he yearned to see those sharp blue eyes looking at him again.

He had known Helen longer than anyone else on the planet. Had been through more adventures just with her than most people had in their entire lifetimes combined. Still, he had not expected her. Maybe he should have, but he hadn't. She could obviously still surprise him.

Holding true to that, her eyes opened just the barest millimeter, startling him out of his skin, but they immediately closed again as she shifted restlessly. "Ha ha." He muttered, too quietly for her to hear even if she had been conscious. Then, almost of its own volition, his hand reached up to her head, fingers barely ghosting against her forehead as he gently brushed a lock of her bangs from her face back toward her hairline. This he allowed himself, and nothing more. There wasn't time to waste and her presence made things that much more complicated.

-((-))-


	3. Waking

Author's Note: You know, I just had a thought as to why I find this so hard. It's not just because he's a bit too witty for me to reenact, but good gracious! A lot of their interaction is physical, not necessarily verbal. The look in the eyes- it sells the banter. Works out well enough in my head, but doesn't really translate to paper very well. Enjoy anyway! This part is Helen's POV.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Waking

-Helen's POV-

"Helen, Helen." It came out like a tsk of reproach. "What _have_ you gotten yourself into this time?"

Trying to pull herself back into reality, Helen had to wonder- exactly what _had_ she gotten herself into? Because she currently had no memory of anything recent and yet she was painfully aware that the left side of her stomach and the same side of her thigh had been on the receiving end of... well, _something_. Her guess- a train. With teeth. Poisonous ones judging by the fire her wounds were sending coursing through her veins.

A hand touched her arm. Uncertainty and a spike of fear drove her hand almost of its own volition to shoot out and grip the wrist of said hand as hard as she could. Which turned out to be not very hard at all.

Another hand grabbed her fingers and gently pried them off, while a voice soothed her. "Easy Helen, you're alright. No one to hurt you here, on that I can give you my word."

Instant relief washed over her, relaxing her a little. It was a voice she knew. She trusted that voice, at least to a certain extent. Opening her eyes made them sting so much she could barely see anything. Jerkily, she rubbed the grit from one eye and peered closely at the person still holding one of her hands as he raised the head of her bed. "Nikola." It came out a barely recognizable croak.

He tsked and let go of her hand to retrieve a glass of water from a nearby table.

She understood why she had relaxed now; she did indeed trust him. You could always trust Nikola to be exactly what he was. Secret agenda's or not, he never lied about who he was and what he thought of you. That, and she had known him for over a century. She knew he would keep his word and make sure she could not be harmed while she was under his care.

After he handed the water over, he watched her drink for a quiet minute without speaking. While she drank, she utilized the momentary reprieve to search through her memory and slowly realized that she was upset. Shifting, her memory was confirmed by the pain in her stomach and leg. She had been shot. Shot and mauled, and she was understandably angry. When she got out of here... Thoughtfully, she gave back the empty glass.

Nikola set it down, then glared her way. "All right. I've played the gracious host, the doctor, and the doting servant; you owe me some answers."

She chuckled lightly, groaning a little as it stretched her abdomen.

His gaze turned piercing. "It's been a long time since I've had to take a bullet out of anyone, especially you, Helen."

"Ah, Belize all over again." She tried to joke.

He didn't smile back. "Care to explain?"

Helen shrugged with her good side. "The usual really. The only difference being, that this time I had no backup available."

"And why's that? Surely that odd boy with the hair-" He made a flinging gesture near his forehead. "-didn't let you?"

"If you are referring to Will, he had a conference in Juarez."

"Wolf Boy?"

"_Henry_ is in Toronto assisting a doctor in a study of metamorphic abnormalities."

"Well, what about your hairy butler that won't leave you alone for more than a few minutes at a time?"

She shook her head. "He's with Kate on a retrieval in the Rocky Mountains."

"Home sweet home." Nikola sneered, huffing out a breath in exasperation. "Honestly, I think you're just trying to distract me."

"It was supposed to be a simple mission, Nikola. I ran into some unexpected complications is all."

"Let me get this straight." He tilted one hip and cocked his head. "You got yourself shot and in a bind so naturally, you thought of me." There was an empty beat for her to soak that in.

"Now that you say it out loud it does sound a little ridiculous." She admitted.

"It's touching, Helen, but not really your style." He was doing it again. That thing where he gestured with his hands, making the simple action seem sarcastic or arrogant even without his tone.

She had no idea how he managed to do that. Bending her head from side to side gently, she sighed. "Apparently, someone was after the same abnormal that I was. I was close to retrieving it when the shot startled the creature and triggered its defenses. Then the bastards stole my vehicle. I came _here_, because it was the only place I could reach _on foot_ without losing so much blood that the endeavor would prove useless."

"Hmm... Or you missed me and wanted to play doctor/patient. Really, Helen, if you were that desperate I could have arranged for far less life-threatening injuries." He leaned closer, expression bordering on a leer.

Pursing her lips, she rolled her eyes at her old friend. "These were not life-threatening injuries Nikola. The bullet wound was barely more than a graze. Blood loss from the other wounds was the only threat- and when have you ever known me to enjoy being the 'patient'?"

He tilted his head. "Good point." He stood back up straight with a frown. A flippant gesture at her leg conveyed his next question without him having to speak.

She sighed again. "Razor Sills. I have experience with the unique venom secreted by their wing-like claws and therefore the greatest tolerance."

His eyes raked over her again before settling back on her eyes. "How did you even know where I was?" Now he was sounding petulant again. He really was very good at sounding like a small child; so much so that she was hard pressed to maintain her usual levity.

"I have my sources, Nikola."

He returned her small smile grumpily. "I'll say this for you, you certainly never fail to entertain your audience. That was quite the entrance. You managed to scare the maid half to death."

She frowned. "Poor thing. Is she alright?"

"She has me for a temporary employer, I think she'll be fine." He quipped. "I suppose you'll want to be contacting your people."

Tilting her head, she pulled a face. "Actually, I was hoping not to involve them."

He stared at her. "You actually _want_ to stay here?"

Any second now he was going to say something suggestive, so she hurried to forestall him. "Nikola, don't sell yourself so short." She teased in mock outrage. "You make an _excellent_ nurse maid."

He growled.

Her smile was uncontainable. Though she would never tell him, he was rather adorable when he was frustrated.

"Do you at least know who shot you?"

"I have a few ideas of who it _could_ have been. However, I did not get a good look at the time. I was rather preoccupied with the Razor Sills."

"So no idea if we can expect a recurrence."

"I'm afraid not. You'll be happy to know though, that I made sure no one was following me before I came here."

"Thanks for that." He said sarcastically.

She just smiled. "I promise not to be a nuisance if I can stay here long enough to get back on my feet."

"Next thing I know you'll be asking me to run a clinic for injured puppies." He griped.

"Aw." Helen stuck out her lower lip a smidgen in mock sympathy. "Poor Nikola."

He growled, his eyes turning darker and the whites almost disappearing.

She grinned at him, completely unafraid.

Nikola huffed out a breath and looked at her again with his eyes back to their normal color. "Helen Magnus, you are going to be the death of me."

-((-))-


	4. Healing

Author's Note: You guys are sweet and encouraging. I feel more confident, so I decided to post a little earlier than I intended. I'm with Helen in this chapter still, but the next will be Tesla's POV again. It'll probably keep switching between the two.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Healing

-Helen's POV-

The rest of her convalescence was spent similarly. Over the next few days, Nikola was almost constantly by her side when she was awake, complaining at the inconvenience her presence brought to him by interrupting his experiments. However, she noticed that he didn't necessarily ask her to leave, nor did he stop tending to the needs she still couldn't manage on her own. He changed her bandages himself, wrapping the white gauze around her abdomen with exaggerated care even as he teased her mercilessly. She could tell he was being especially gentle because it didn't hurt nearly as much as it should have. The maid came in on several occasions during her stay to change the sheets and Nikola took Helen gently in his arms every time, his vampire status giving his otherwise wiry arms strength to lift her with ease. As painful as it was to be moved, she still had to fight off the blush that wanted to creep onto her cheeks.

As for Nikola, he remained unusually sober. If she didn't know better, she would have said he was actually worried about her. When she finally was able to get on her feet again, he wasn't far away, hovering nearby and using his own brand of encouragement as she tried to walk without crying. Which meant he mostly teased her when she hesitated. It hurt badly to put weight on her left foot, as the pressure stretched and pulled at the stitches Nikola had placed in her leg and stomach. Though she knew movement was necessary for her recovery, given the amount of poison that had entered her system that she still needed to dispel with proper circulation, she still swore it was some form of torture. Luckily, Nikola's behavior was proving quite the distraction. He seemed even more nervous with each passing day and normally, Nikola didn't _do_ nervous. She watched him as she walked slowly down the hall arm-in-arm with him, trying to understand this new development.

After almost four days of regaining her strength, she decided it was time to leave and attempt to complete her mission. The morning dawned bright and vivid, the usual high temperatures and good weather having returned quickly after the monsoon-like downpour from the night of her arrival. She sighed at the view out the window, slipping her jacket on carefully. The poison of the Razor Sills made the motion still a little painful, but it shouldn't interfere with her mobility much. The rent holes in her clothing showed the off white color of the wraps around her wounds, the jagged edges of black still off color with stains of blood. She didn't fault the maid. It was no surprise to her how hard it was to get blood out of any sort of clothing. The blotches of yellowed gray showed the places where the poison had leaked from her wounds.

Finally dressed, she turned as the door opened behind her.

Nikola froze in the doorway, blinking at her several times before he frowned. "And where do you think you're going?"

"After my Razor Sills." She announced casually, collecting her gun from on top of the folded covers of the bed.

"After all the time I spent patching you up? I don't think so, get back in bed!" He growled with that petulant tone back in his voice.

"Really, Nikola, I appreciate the help." She said seriously, trying not to grin. "The next time you're in a bad spot, I swear I will keep my murmurings to myself, no matter what trouble you bring with you." She holstered her gun on her right thigh.

He just pulled a face. "That's a nice sentiment and everything Helen, but I'm not letting you leave this house."

She smiled at him, her brow creasing slightly in confusion. He was teasing, he had to be, but why on earth was he? He'd been ragging on her for days for getting in the way, specifically siting the need for her absence to accomplish his work. Which, she had to admit, she found secretly amusing. Who knew that she could be so distracting to him? Suddenly now he wanted her to stay though? "I've healed plenty, Nikola, if that's what you're worried about. I'll be able to handle things, even if I encounter my competition again."

"You _still_ aren't leaving." He grumbled obstinately.

Looking at him carefully now, her slight frown deepened. "Nikola, what's going on?"

"Y-you are _not_ going out into that kind of danger while you're still injured." He answered stubbornly.

Alarm flared through her. Now he was stammering? What could... Her head tilted and a mischievous grin slide onto her face. "Aw, Nikki, are you lonely? If you wanted to spend time with me, all you had to do was say so." She enjoyed that it so closely echoed how he had ribbed her before.

His eyes instantly narrowed in frustration, but as usual an eyebrow lifted suggestively. "Was that a hint?"

She shook her head, a smile still tilting her lips. "I'm hardly in a position to be proposing anything." She made a flippant gesture at herself. "I do appreciate your hospitality. You know, you could always come by the Sanctuary when you're finished here." Sedately, she walked to the door.

Undaunted, he blocked her path. "Helen, I mean it, you can't leave yet."

"Nikola, don't be ridiculous." She pushed past and continued down the hall without pausing. "If I take too long, the Razor Sills will move on to their winter hibernation spots. Retrieval will then be impossible for another decade and I have no plans of waiting that long. I need to track down another group and hopefully get them home before I run into those who shot me."

"Helen." He grabbed her arm.

That surprised her into stopping. Nikola rarely, if ever, grabbed her like that. However, just as she was about to question him angrily, was when she noticed the scared maid huddled near the window down the hall. She stopped mid-turn, her tongue freezing the words about to exit her mouth. Slowly, she peeled his hand from her arm and approached the young woman. The second she got within view of the window, she didn't need to ask any questions as to why the woman was frightened.

Outside, surrounding the building in a seemingly endless oscillating circle, were men in body armor, with large guns in hand and heavy artillery pointed in their direction. Her keen eye discerned no military nor private insignia on their uniforms. Still, it looked like an army was on their doorstep.

Turning about inch by inch, she looked her old friend in the eye. "What did you do?"

-((-))-


	5. Dazzling

Author's Note: Oops! Sorry, I got so busy yesterday I didn't realize I failed to post this last afternoon. Thanks so much for the reviews! and enjoy! Feel free to ask some questions if it's not clear enough.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Dazzling

What did _he_ do? How in the world was that fair? "Why do you automatically assume it was something _I_ did?" He groused aloud.

"Nikola, there's an _army_ outside with impressive tactical armaments pointed in this direction!" Helen answered in exasperation, facing him completely with her arms folded over her chest.

He glanced out the window. Really, it wasn't _that_ impressive. "You've had army's attacking _you_ before, but I don't go pointing fingers before there's any corroborating evidence as to your guilt." He pointed out grumpily.

She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose as though she were getting a headache. Uncontrollably, his eyes strayed to her injuries, a spike of concern worming it's way through his chest. He carefully examined her stance to be sure she wasn't off kilter, indicating it was her wounds that were the source of her pain. Luckily, she wasn't. Though it meant he had to be facing her admittedly fierce wrath again, he was relieved she had made such an excellent recovery. If only it had occurred just a touch faster, then she never would have been involved in this mess.

"For heaven's sake, Nikola." She breathed out, looking at him again. "_What_ is going on?"

Her voice pulled him from his observations back to the conversation at hand. He put a hand on his hip and tilted the other her direction."Well, it's not my fault you're too impatient to allow me to explain."

Her glare was getting that dangerous glint.

"_Alright_ then!" He held up his hands still smirking at her. "Follow me class." He headed down the stairs to the front entryway.

"But..."

"They'll be fine, Helen." He assured her in his best chiding tone, still not stopping. "There are protections in place to keep them from using those weapons on us, and they can't get in or they surely would have already." After a minute, he was reassured himself to hear the sound of her boots on the hard stone as she followed, her very steps seeming to extend her displeasure. He smirked. She was always so _damn_ beautiful when she was angry that he couldn't help it. Leading the way to the door for the basement levels, he lit the stairwell with just a quick flick over an exposed wire. It helped on any possible paper trail when there was no outstanding electric bill. He tended to avoid that particular blazing neon sign of 'Nikola Tesla's lab' whenever possible. A glance back at her with a satisfied smile showed Helen continued to follow him down the winding staircase, but that she also looked thoroughly unimpressed. Which was only as to be expected. His Helen was never one to be easily awed and she'd seen such mundane tricks before. He barely managed to suppress a snicker at her complete lack of interest.

When they finally reached the bottom, he offered her his hand for the last few stairs and she automatically took it. He could see that she literally did not think of what she was doing exactly. Otherwise, she probably would have refused, since he rarely offered and she had a suspicious nature sometimes. Having been raised in the civilized Victorian Era, it was an ingrained part of her nature though, one she obviously hadn't put off, even after so much time. All the better for him was all he could think. He could touch her hand and feel the thrill up his spine as her impossibly soft skin slid across his own while she was none the wiser. It was only when she pulled away that he realized the downside to genteel gestures.

Clearing his throat, he turned on another light, illuminating the basement room in it's splendor. He was rather proud of his quick thinking. Jutting upwards to the ceiling were large columns of orange stone, sparking gentle lines of electricity between them like lightening rods. Helen took a few steps into the room, enough that he had to reach out a hand to stop her before she went too far. A jolt from something like this could kill her. She ceased moving forward, but didn't acknowledge his staying hand as she looked around, mouth slightly agape in astonishment.

He stared too, but at her, not his work. Oh, he loved that expression. Where her eyes went wide so the icy blue was such an vivid color. It reminded him of the soft color the sky turned at the dawn of a rainy day, when the world was still quiet, and the ground was still dry. She could floor him with that look every time. A slight crease remained above one eyebrow, waiting to lift once she'd processed the scene. When it did, just as he'd anticipated, he smiled at her. "Isn't it lovely?"

"Amber?" She asked curiously.

"Oh yes." He answered cockily, tapping his lips with a finger, waiting her out.

"What, exactly, is it?"

"Helen," He chided gently. "Really, do you not recall all those early science lessons already? You're getting forgetful in your old age." Striding closer to the pillars, he felt the drag on his own body slowly build. "Think carefully now. Amber is what?"

"Hardened tree resin?" The answer came in a questioning tone.

"_Classically used_ to produce electrical effects by application of friction." He grinned. "Now, think of this whole house and that army outside as two different electrically charged objects. Like the gold leafs of an Electroscope. What occurs when two objects come together that are charged by the _same thing_?"

"Like-charged objects repel, opposite-charged objects attract." She quoted. "Yes, I do remember my grade school lessons, Nikola. Unlike you, I listened to my tutors."

He ignored her jibe at his studying habits as a child and leaned against the wall. "Well, there's your explanation."

"That's all? You honestly expect me to understand all this with only that information?" Her eyes widened slightly in understanding as she met his eyes. She shook her head. "You're teasing me again. Nikola, now is hardly the time."

He stepped closer to her, their chests almost touching. "In a dark and secluded basement? Seems like the perfect time to me."

Helen put a hand on his chest and gave him a warning look.

He just rolled his eyes at her. "Fine, be a spoil sport. I... may have provided a certain someone with a certain technology that was, say- missing a promised key ingredient. One charged by myself, just as this house is. Therefore-" He rolled a hand at her, urging her to fill in the blanks.

"They're being kept at bay without even knowing it aren't they?" She surmised.

"Well, I give them a few days to finally turn the thing off before they figure it out, but they're not as stupid as they look." He went over to his work bench in the corner and retrieved a blue schematic. "Here you are."

She took it and looked it over. "Shields?"

"Of a sort. They have them, and this house is surrounded by one as well. They wanted them for... well that's not important. Let's just say it doesn't work as precisely as they intended."

"Which is why they are currently banging on your doorstep, so to speak." She finished with a wry expression.

"These guys are already too powerful, you wanted them to have better technology at their disposal?" He asked with a lifted eyebrow in response.

All she did was shake her head in exasperation at him. "So, what happens when they _do_ figure it out?" She asked.

He smiled darkly. "I'm glad you asked."

-((-))-


	6. Working

Author's Note: Consider yourselves lucky I chose not to make this a cliffhanger. I was tempted.

Side note- As a vampire, Nikola still has a heartbeat, right? For the purposes of this, he does, just because I think he does. :P And because I've seen him bleed, even if he doesn't die from it.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Working

One of his hands was on the small of Helen's back, guiding her back upstairs at a sedate pace. They followed the path he had taken the night she had arrived, back to his lab upstairs. As he closed the door behind them, she glanced around.

"Not bad." She murmured.

"My lab is never anything but extraordinary." He said correctively, folding his arms. "Now, with a small adjustment to my new shielding, I believe I can make it easily transportable. Say, for two people to handle."

Helen picked up a glass bottle and swirled the contents. "Alright." She said gamely.

"The problem is, I need an extra pair of hands to do so." He'd realized soon after she had showed up at his door, after she was finally stable enough to leave alone for a minute or two, that he couldn't make his device work by himself. The reason he had been failing was because the charge had to be tuned to the right frequency and the connection adjusted at the same time the device was being finished and hooked to the power source. As genius as he was, he only had so many hands with which to work. He explained this to her, in part, and watched as her gaze grew decisive again.

That was his Helen. Give her a plan and an objective and all you really had to do was sit back and watch her go. It was like viewing a speeding locomotive. In no time, he was seated on the edge of a stool before the table, once again working the delicate wiring. Not far away, Helen was adjusting the wires to the power source. Suddenly, she yelped and pulled back, her fingers clacking together as she shook them hard and fast. "Bloody hell, Nikola. Did you replace the wiring?"

He couldn't help but smile at her. "You told me to, didn't you?"

"And?"

"Helen, why would I ever do anything but exactly what you tell me?" He honestly tried not to laugh but she was just so adorable, shaking her fingers free of the electrical charge and then sticking the tips in her mouth for a second. It wasn't that different from the early days of their working together. Her excitement over their experiments had given him an insight into what Helen must have been like as a child. She was never the repressible sort, but he'd wondered for a long time what had happened in her early years before they had met to dampen such spirits to nothing but the scientific arena.

"I agreed to help you with this only because I want to get out of here with my skin relatively intact." She continued, studiously ignoring what he had said. "If you aren't going to do your part-"

"I did do it! I swear." He shook his head, bending so the device was at his eyes level. "And I wouldn't have needed your help at all if you hadn't distracted me from my work. I would have been done and gone before they even got here. Just because this is a two person job, does not mean that it needed to be your... skillful little digits. That maid would have made a fine pair of extra hands."

She stopped long enough to give him a disgusted look at his innuendo. "Since when do you rob cradles, Nikola? She's practically still a child."

"Do I hear a note of jealousy, my dear?"

Her head jerked upward, that characteristic double-take that made his blood flow faster. He'd hit a nerve; how interesting. It appeared to be the same one that made her stiffen every time he did. He sometimes akinned the feeling of finding just the right thing to evoke that response to the thrill of the chase; something Helen was oh so good at provoking. It almost distracted him from hearing her next words.

"Please, she's almost catatonic right now with fear. I'd hardly call that something to be envious of. Whose to say that she even could have helped you. I'm having a hard time following this and I've known you for more than a century."

"What is so hard to understand? Right now, the 'bad guys' are outside, we're inside. When they get in here, we'll either be gone, or we'll die. If we finish this, we'll follow through on the first and more attractive option and you'll still have time to collect your furry little bunny's when we're done. Everybody wins. Well, at least everybody we care about winning, which is the two of us."

For a minute she simply worked on retuning the charge again, while he fiddled with the same wiring he had been struggling with when she had arrived.

"And this will help us accomplish that how?" She asked finally, looking at it skeptically.

"As I said-"

"Yes, a vague reference to your new shielding and transportation." She interrupted. "Just because you mumbled it when you dragged me up here, does not mean I understood what in the world you were talking about. I see nothing that would keep them from just following us."

"That's because for all your beauty and intelligence, dear, when it comes to non-medical situations, you lack my artistic vision."

"You mean the skewed view of your own superiority?"

"Now you're just being mean." He pouted at her.

"You asked for it." She shot back.

"The thing that will help us _escape_, is the same thing saving our lives right at this moment." He said, moving his tools back and forth as he spoke. "As you so astutely quoted, like-charged objects repel, opposite-charged objects attract. Right now, our shielding is charged by me, as is theirs, allowing us to repel them. However, once they switch off their shielding, it will automatically switch to the power source I created for them. All we have to do is get them to turn the shielding back on and presto, their stuck to the house like bugs to fly-paper."

"And this helps us, how exactly?" She asked incredulously.

"While they are stuck, we'll turn on our wonderful little personal shielding, which will repel us because..." He left it open for her to finish.

"We'll have shielding charged like the houses shield." Realization filled her cool blue eyes.

"Eureka! She can be taught." He grinned as she sent an affronted glare his way. "We leave the shielding on long enough to get away, then turn it off. Probably about as long as this power source will last anyway. Meanwhile, the house's shield reverts to the energy stored in the amber and we're home free."

"You thought this through for once, it seems." She grunted, her tone edged with a hint of appreciation. She was mildly delighted.

"Yeah, don't get used to it." He griped.

-((-))-


	7. Trapping

Author's Note: Posting this so soon is probably a bad idea. Just because the creativity is flowing at the moment so I'm ahead a chapter or two doesn't mean I'm not going to need that if it stops later on.

That's what I keep telling myself anyway.

Despite my internal admonitions, here you go. :)

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Trapping

It was hard to concentrate when she was standing so close to him.

"Alright. I think that's as close as we're going to get it." Helen said, looking over their work on the portable shield and unconsciously brushing up against the side on one of his bent legs. "Hopefully it lasts long enough to do us some good."

"Should at least get us out of the building faster." He commented, blinking rapidly to dispel the fog in his head. He was still working on the necessary hook-up that would allow the house shield to transfer from his energy to what he had dubbed the 'amber grid' down in the basement.

She somehow shifted even closer to him, her breath hitting his ear as she glanced between his face and his work. "While you finish up with that, I should go check that poor maid. She wasn't very lucid when we locked her in that guest room. What did you say her name was again?"

"Constance, or Consuela or something like that." He waved her off, irritated. How was he supposed to remember the fool woman's name? Especially when he was working? Helen's heady scent was interfering with his thought-processes enough as it was. Thankfully, she just rolled her eyes and finally shifted from his side. With her farther away, he was able to clear his mind somewhat with a firm shake of his head. "And no, you shouldn't do that Helen. We'll have time for that later. For now, you should rig something up that will force those soldiers to raise their shield again once they get in the house. Explosives or something."

"Explosives." She repeated disbelievingly. "I'm only following along with this ridiculous plan because I have little doubt they will shoot first and ask names later. You may be able to survive a barrage of bullets, but in case you've forgotten," She pointed at her side. "_I_ cannot."

He barely caught his face from twisting into a grimace, keeping it neutral by the skin of his teeth. Oh, he certainly did remember. Did she _have_ to bring that up? Did she think him stupid or something, to even ask that question after all the times he had seen first hand just how very human she was? His voice was quiet. "So, what then? You're just going to stand around and watch?" He raised a brow suggestively at her, trying to get her part of the conversation off such a sore subject and hopefully into the gutter where he was more comfortable.

"I'm still trying to see the catch to this whole situation. There's no way for me to be certain those men aren't perfectly justified in assaulting this place. I'm certainly not going to blow them up for you."

"Did I tell you to?" He snapped at her, leaving his project and getting to his feet. Her eyes narrowed slightly at him as he stepped angrily into her personal space. His tone shouted his frustration even as he continued quietly. "I didn't ask you to be here, Helen. Yet here you are. Just give them some scares and that should do it. Whatever you want, I _don't care._ If you can avoid booby traps while searching for Tut's tomb, you're more than capable of _making_ a few for those men to find without killing anyone to get the message across."

She frowned at him. "You're worried? Touching a nerve, am I?"

He growled a little at her, eyes turning black and filling his senses with every nuance of her features. That's why he saw her lips quirk just the slightest bit. His eyes faded back to normal in an instant. He almost couldn't believe it. He was a caged, frustrated, genius vampire... and she had the audacity to tease him. You had to give her props; she was a fearless little monster. He mock scowled at her. "You're not a nice person when your trapped in one place, are you?"

"Not particularly." She shrugged nonchalantly, grinning. Then she looked down at the weapon strapped to her thigh. "I don't suppose the ammunition I have left in my weapon will suffice, will it?" Her voice sounded resigned.

"Nope." He answered back jovially. Maybe he took too much pleasure from their bickering and situation, but he couldn't help the smile on his face. Which was probably what she had intended to begin with. "Where would be the fun in that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Weapon or supply storage?"

"Supply storage, basement level. Take the door opposite to the Amber Grid's." He turned back to his project.

"There's still the problem of that maid." She pointed out.

"I say we let her find her own way out of here." He muttered darkly.

"Nikola!" She scolded, sounding scandalized.

"Joking, Helen. My goodness, your sense of humor really _has_ gone the way of Hörbiger's World Ice theory."

As she headed for the door, she gave a rather unladylike snort.

He chuckled. Once silence had finally fallen again, he got back to work with a vengeance. Whatever either of them said, he had no intention of letting her get shot again. Unsurprisingly, he found himself getting along almost twice as fast as before. And she had trouble believing she was a distraction to him.

It took him only two hours till he was done, long enough for Helen to at least be done with the preliminaries. He decided to go find her and see how she was progressing. The hallway echoed sound back at him like a vault. It was slightly unsettling to hear again. Honestly, he had gotten used to the sound of Helen's voice in the previously empty silence, filling their every moment with the banter the two of them seemed to thrive on. To be with her... it gave him an odd sense of peace. Like everything was right with the world, no matter what they were facing.

He started down the stairs, seeing her bent near the base. "Helen?"

She crawled up the steps till her nose was almost touching one near the middle as she examined it closely. "Something strange." She only murmured.

Barely registering the click himself, he was infinitely grateful for his enhanced hearing and speed in that second. It allowed him time to jump down, grab her, and throw her bodily across the entry hall, out of the way, just before half the wall exploded around him.

-((-))-


	8. Reeling

Author's Note: Hey everybody! [This would be where you say "Hey, Dr. Nick!", though I'm not a doctor, nor is my name Nick... It's Ink. ;) ] I had Thanksgiving with my family yesterday. Woot! After a day of playing family football and then eating till my sides were sore, I'm not really up for much. Good news for you- writing happens to be one of those few things. :D So, as requested, here's your next chapter. And thank you all so much for the lovely reviews. They let me know I'm doing something right. It both bolsters me and encourages me to write more. You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Reeling

Helen's POV-

If Helen had been in her right mind, she would have said, from a medical standpoint, that she got up rather quickly. However, in a fog of screaming senses, it felt like an eternity as she struggled away from the welcoming darkness. Sitting up from her prone position on the floor near the far wall felt like a feat of massive proportions in and of itself. Pain niggled at the edge of her befuddled mind but, still in shock, it was easy to ignore it. Might as well take advantage of her condition while she could really. Resolutely, she planted her hands on the floor as she turned her body, trying to get her feet under her. One arm gave out immediately, though she couldn't tell why and wasn't going to waste the time figuring it out yet. Both legs shook so badly as she added her weight to them, she was sure they too would collapse at any moment. For some reason she couldn't quite grasp, she knew she had to hurry. Once on her feet, dull pain began sluggishly seeping up from one leg, the numbness slowly wearing off. Still dazed, with a shrill ringing in her ears, she looked over the damage in the room. It proved a little difficult to concentrate, but it would have been hard _not_ to see the massive blast hole. A good portion of the staircase was gone, as was half the wall. Her mind slowly took this and muddled it over, coming to screeching halt on one single thought.

Nikola. He must have been blasted through the air, in much the same way as he had launched her clear of most of the blast. Her eyes tracked up to a large depression in the wall opposite the staircase and then slanted down to the huddled lump beneath it. For a second, her heart skipped a beat as she looked at the unmoving figure, fear pounding along with her blood through her veins like white-hot magma. After an initial rush, she had to slow to limp around bits of debris strewn across the floor. When she reached the clothed pile, she tried to crouch down but unsurprisingly her legs sent her to her knees. She held back a cry of pain by ruthlessly biting the inside of her cheek.

Moving with great care, she wiped blood from uneven surfaces of flesh and did her best to examine objectively all the bits and pieces of shrapnel sticking out. Once she had done that, she sat back painfully, and blinked the tears away from her eyes with strained determination. Finally she scowled and her tone could have moved stone. "Get up, Nikola." It was an order, not a request.

His bloody mass shuddered and he sat up, shaking his head. He leaned back against the wall as rents in his skin knit themselves back together and some of his bones snapped back into place.

Anger at him was adding to the ache in her heart. Anger at him for scaring her like that. For saving her life and ending up in this condition. It was a foolish fury, but she could no more control it than she could her own heartbeat at this moment. When he finally opened his black as coal eyes to look at her, she was grateful for the inhumanity of them. She could not distinguish hurt or pain in these eyes. The normal color of his pupils probably wasn't something she could face right now and this meant that he was healing even as she spoke. "Are you alright?" The pained edge to her voice felt like it was shredding her sore esophagus. She coughed, waving settling dust from her face with the hand she could raise that high. Anger at herself now made her hands tremble even more than her returning pain. She honestly should have realized he would be all right. Even after all these years, she still found herself forgetting one simple fact. Vampire.

"Got a ringing in my ears." He practically shouted. "And I just bought this damn suit. But other than that-" He shrugged, hissing as he pulled a jagged stake of wood from near his collar. "What happened? Did you set off one of your own booby traps?" He asked jokingly, still speaking a little too loudly.

"Nonsense. I hadn't even gotten to the stairs yet." She grunted, tearing a piece of metal from his leg. Double-checking that his body was repairing itself correctly, she ran a hand gently over his knee where the hole was now only an angry red line. Her hands continued to shake despite the fact that her anger had ebbed away. Even though she hoped he didn't notice, she realized that was a futile wish when he grabbed her hand in one of his.

"Helen, you didn't get hurt did you?" He sounded concerned and winded, as though he had just hiked up a very long staircase.

Her eyes stung and she looked down at the floor, cursing herself again. Why couldn't _she_ be practically invincible? Then her stupidity would be hers alone to bear. She should have understood what she was looking at, handled it with more care. And now, though he was still picking shrapnel from his flesh, he was worried about her? Her own weakness grated at her like sandpaper.

Nikola... If he was human, his injuries would have killed him for sure. Yet here they were, with his body quickly getting back to normal and hers with a steadily growing pain that was making her nauseous.

And why the bloody hell couldn't she meet his eyes while she lied to him? It was a stupid fallibility to develop on the spot. She shook her head, hoping to clear her blurry vision. "Made a rather uncomfortable acquaintance with the wall, but I'm alright." A tingling in her skin made her certain he was staring at her so she cleared her throat and shakily stood using her good hand and less painful leg. Wiping her hands free of his blood on her already ruined black pants, she carefully backtracked the debris to the exact point that matched as the source of the explosion. "I didn't get a good enough look before you threw me. Some sort of tripwire?"

For a long moment, he didn't answer but still she kept her eyes glued to the carnage in the middle of the stairs. She wouldn't look back at him. On that point, she would remain stoic. A pained grunt and a low groan sounded behind her; Nikola getting slowly to his feet. He came up next to her. "Probably something like that."

She glanced his way. "It wasn't there before. Some one set that trap, and the only other person inside this house is..."

He met her eyes, lip curling in a snarl that showed his sharp teeth.

-((-))-


	9. Playing

Author's Note: If this feels disjointed at the end, then I have done my job well. I thought Helen and Nikola needed a few moments.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Playing

-Helen's POV-

"Bloody maid, I knew she couldn't be trusted." Nikola growled, looking around them furtively.

Helen shook her head, fighting off a chuckle. He could be so dramatic. They had no way of knowing if it was the young woman that had planted the explosive device. After all, they had locked the maid in a room upstairs so that she wouldn't wander into something unwittingly and get herself killed. How then had she gotten out to set such a trap? On the other hand, if it wasn't her, than that meant there was someone else here with them. Judging by the devastated state of this entry hall now, someone who wanted one or both of them dead. Frowning, she shifted. Her leg was starting to burn like fire. She knew she didn't have long before the shock completely wore off and her body would demand precedence over all else, so she tried to stay on point. "We need to be more careful from now on. Keep our eyes open. And taking a defensive position would be wise."

"Agreed." He sighed. "Really, is there no good help these days? Your band of merry elves deserts you, while I'm stuck with some murderous cleaning lady from hell."

She opened her mouth to protest on her team's behalf, but at the same time she shifted to the side to face him properly. Her leg refused to take her weight properly so that she was suddenly lurching sideways in a stumble.

Nikola caught her with a single arm, then his other arm snaked around her midsection and his lips settled near her ear. "Liar! I knew it." The last was said in a sing-song and cocky tone.

"Didn't either." She leered at him over her shoulder. There was no point in trying to lie if she couldn't even keep her feet under her but he didn't have to act as though he had just been waiting for her frailty to catch up with her. This sucked enough as it was. Sometimes, she really hated how much stronger he was than she could be. Although, with the feel of his arms around her, she could think of worse situations to be in. "It's not bad."

"Still, we're vulnerable here. Come on, there should be a medical kit in the kitchen and it's more easily defended."

Rather than waste her energy protesting the move, she came, leaning on his arm for support as she limped. _He_ seemed none the worse for wear.

The kitchen was well appointed. Bland, but serving its purpose. Dark stone counter tops were the only real feature of note. After they entered, Nikola turned to lock and bar the door, easily dragging the fridge in front of it. Then he swung back and lifted her up onto the kitchen counter with gentle strength.

"I'm not the one that got blown up, I don't know why you're fussing."

He scowled at her. "I've just been blown up; I don't enjoy the thought of having to carry you out of here."

She scoffed, sure that with his inappropriate mind he probably very much did enjoy the thought of carrying her and just about anywhere at that. Maybe not while they were being shot at... but still.

After a quick rummage in a drawer, he brought out the med kit and opened it up.

For the first time, she looked at the limb that was causing her so much pain. There was a long gash up her leg, ending in the still healing slashes of her previous injury. Which would explain why it hurt so much more than was normal. It had aggravated the lingering poison and redistributed the traces back into her blood stream. Razor Sill poison was clingy like that.

"Not too big, not too deep." Nikola commented. He had obviously been looking too. "You won't even need stitches this time."

"Thanks to you." She answered faintly, giving him a fleeting smile of gratitude before looking back down. It wasn't something she particularly wanted to talk about. He may be able to brush it off, but she would never get used to seeing him bloodied and broken like that. "Butterfly bandages, some antiseptic and a patch or two of gauze should do it."

He held some out to her. "After I clean it out- you get the top, I'll get the bottom?"

She nodded and tried to reach for the bandages, but her right arm wouldn't cooperate.

Obviously perturbed as he watched her struggle, Nikola set the bandages down and took her arm.

Her pain tripled. The air left her lungs forcibly as white and red stars exploded on the edges of her vision. She looked down at the way he was slowly moving her arm, noticing the other bump and the odd angle of her shoulder joint. "Shoulder's dislocated." She observed through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, I noticed." He murmured, shooting her an uneasy look. "I'm going to have to put it back in, Helen."

She just nodded her understanding and swallowed her displeasure at once again being in the position of the patient. Role reversal may be an interesting concept, but honestly she despised its real world complications. She was the one with the medical degree, after all.

He made it quick, thankfully; nimble hands snapping the offending bone back into the socket before she could blink.

Her vision went white, then black, and finally fizzled back into focus even as he wrapped her shoulder up and then secured her arm in a sling. How he was working that out with her head lulled into the crease of his neck and her upper body weight leaning on him heavily, she had no clue. "Y-our the one that... got h-hurt." She slurred out, head still muddled. Maybe the poison was effecting her again more than she'd thought.

"Vampire, remember?" He answered back. "Besides, you weren't recovered enough to go through this kind of bang-up with your usual gusto. Now shut-up, this takes more concentration than I would have thought."

Now she was really getting woozy. Had he just told her to shut-up? Well, two could play at that. On a strange, yet well-known impulse she usually ignored, she turned her face into his neck, her lips ghosting over his skin as she spoke. "Am I distracting you again, Mr. Tesla?" Oh. That came out a bit throatier than her mind had first intended, but she was pleased it came out without being slurred. Since she felt him shiver in response, she decided to fully chalk it up to a win. Unable to hold it in, she smirked against his flesh and he drew in a sharp breath. Her expression broadened into a grin.

Hey, she was _good_ at this game.

"Ooo-kay." He said, shifting away slightly as he drew the word out. She immediately missed the contact. "Helen, why don't you take this pain medicine? It should help take the edge off."

She did as told, dry-swallowing the pills he handed her quickly so he wouldn't try to move so far away as to get her some water. There wasn't a doubt in her addled mind she'd fall over right now if he did. Her leg started stinging terribly. When she looked down, she could see Nikola examining and cleaning the gash there, already having torn her pants open wider to get at it. It seemed harder for Helen to focus for some reason.

He pressed on the upper portion, making her whimper. Then he cursed. "Damned poison."

The feeling of pain intensified measurably. Clutching at one of his arms, she bunched his torn shirt in her fist tightly.

"Okay, that's as good as its going to get, unless you know something I don't." He sounded displeased.

Her? Oh yes, she knew a great many things that he did not, but the same could be said vise-versa she supposed. For instance, she never could wrap her mind around his apparent _need_ to tick off everyone he met, not when he could show such compassion when no one was looking. But then he had never gone along with her notion that she needed to risk her life for creatures she didn't know. She knew he looked damn sexy in those suits of his, which he would never learn from her if she could help it. However, she had no idea how he truly felt toward her. That remained a secret he kept too well disguised. Every time, just when she thought she had figured it out, he turned around and tried to kill her.

Nikola was packing some gauze back into its proper box. She watched the white squares disappear in confusion. Didn't he need to do something with those? Something to do with her leg and slow, sluggish bleeding she was sure. Bending over a little, she looked at her leg, satisfied when she saw matching white squares up the side. Sitting up straight again gave her a head rush. She blinked, closing one eye and idly wondering why the room had tilted off axis. Even when she bent her head to try and straighten it, all it did was make everything blur a little.

Suddenly, Nikola was speaking to her again. "-and block our getaway. We have to catch her before she does more damage." He paused, giving her a frown. "Helen?"

She smiled blearily at him. "Hmm?"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

Drat. She'd missed most of it. "Catch... something. Right?"

His hand pressed against her forehead and she leaned into his touch. Why didn't he ever just touch her like _that_? "You're running a bit of a fever again. Can you lie down for me? Give your head some time to clear and the medicine time to start working?"

What was he talking about? Wasn't she already laying down?

He guided her body with care, but her shoulder started hurting the second her weight shifted, so she protested faintly. He sat her back up immediately. "Alright. We won't do that."

_Yes, let's not. _

He started looking around as though searching for something.

All she could think to do was smile and try to catch his eye. Was he looking for her? If so, she was right here. Wasn't she? For a moment, she wondered. It wouldn't be the first time she thought she was somewhere she wasn't. Damned hallucinogenic...

Finally, he just picked her up again, angling her in his arms so that it didn't hurt her shoulder. With his support the room stopped spinning.

Nope, this was here. She would never be able to imagine this so well. He somehow made her feel safe, challenged, steady, comforted, and annoyed all at the same time. So for now, she buried her face in his chest and let the darkness take her.

-((-))-


	10. Holding

Author's Note: Well, you asked for it, so here it is a bit early. Just to note, I in no way wish to degrade anyone who fervently believes in Spontaneous Generation, I simply express what I believe would be Nikola's opinion of it. And lets face it, Nikola thinks highly of only about three things: Vampires, Helen, and himself.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Holding

Well, this was certainly odd. Not _bad_ really, just a strange situation. Even by their standards, Nikola thought wryly. He and Helen had been through some unbelievable things together, but this... Maybe it was some kind of hoax, a joke she was playing on him. But with his arms currently occupied by his oldest friend in the world, who was unconscious and curled into his frame like a sleeping kitten, he felt fairly positive this was very real. He just had never found himself in quite this position before. Both literally and figuratively.

Literally, because he was seated in one of the plain, beige-colored chairs in the kitchen, left leg spread wide and wrapped around a leg of the chair to help hold him up. Helen was straddling his right leg awkwardly, her re-injured leg tilted down and out, clear of the risk of being touched. The other was bent up on the chair he had set them on, just between his legs. Her knee was practically touching her stomach, while her ankle was tucked up under his knee. Her bad shoulder remained pointed toward the ceiling, away from even the possibility of being jarred, while the other arm was curled between them. She was doubled over so her head lay against his chest.

To him, it looked like a wholly uncomfortable position, but seemed to be the only one she would let herself be shifted into. He was now just trying to hold himself absolutely still so as not to move her too much. If he tried to, she whimpered like someone was torturing her. A sound he couldn't bear to hear. It wasn't the most comfortable position for _him_ either, but he was more worried about her than himself at the moment. Getting blown up had hurt, a whole hell of a lot even. Had it just been him hurting, he probably would have whined a whole lot more. However, for him, it was fleeting pain. The dull ache left behind was already fading away to nothing. One of the perks of being a vampire that he greatly appreciated. _She_ wasn't so lucky.

They had been sitting this way for two hours now, time they didn't really have to spare. What else could he do though? Therein lay the figurative part. He wasn't usually one to be quelled into inaction, but he couldn't set her down. If she fell from the chair, her shoulder could be damaged further. If he laid her down it put that same shoulder at an odd angle that obviously caused her pain. Besides, leaving her alone, defenseless, after someone had tried to kill them both was possibly the worst idea he'd ever heard of. Right up there with the concept of Spontaneous Generation.

Yet, taking her out into the unknown seemed just as foolish. Who knew when his crazy maid would descend upon them again and Helen could mount no self-defense while she was asleep. Out in the open, he couldn't guarantee he could provide that. He may be able to walk away from an explosive trap, but she obviously could not. And he'd be damned if he was going to let her be harmed any more than she already was. All this left him at a quandary he disliked with great intensity; torn between staying with Helen and causing harm to the one responsible for her state.

As if the physical ramifications of his choices weren't enough, his emotions were swirling chaotically, anything but calm in light of everything that had happened. He was uncomfortable with having her so close. Oh, she felt good, of course. Her skin was softer than a flower petal, her frame so relaxed against him in sleep it seemed to meld with his skin. The smell of clean gauze lingered, mingling with that same inexplicable thing that had first drawn him to her. He thought of it as being akin to the finest vintage of wine imaginable. It was her scent, nothing more or less, and it was intoxicating. If there was anything more pleasant than getting to hold her like this, he hadn't encountered it yet. But this was definitely different from their norm, hence his discomfort.

Sure, they had had their moments over the years, but really, Helen was more the sort to give comfort rather than receive it. She always tried to do everything herself; it was rare for her to admit to needing someone else. It was even rarer for her to let that someone be him. He supposed it was why he hadn't tried to wake her or to move. Though he wasn't usually the sort to give comfort, at all, he felt like the luckiest person in the world, now that she had let him. No matter what was going on outside that blocked door, he wouldn't willingly bring this time, this chance, to a close. It just wasn't in him to even try, though he knew it must end sometime. So he sat, unmoving, undecided, uncomfortable and yet more at peace than ever because she was safe and in his arms. He looked down again.

By every god ever worshiped, she was beautiful. Her dark hair was wild, one curled lock falling across her face. Though sprinkled with dust, bruises and scrapes, and half-hidden with her face pressed against his chest, she was still gorgeous. Her every curve seemed the most perfect creation in the world. The feel of her in his arms made his heartbeat erratic and seemingly too strong for containment. It made him feel... special, honestly. He liked that feeling, it appealed to his ego. What he could see of her brow was still spotted with sweat from the brief sweep of fever that had gripped her, but she was now cooling under his touch. Carefully, he shifted his hand up to swipe at the beads.

Helen stirred, swallowing thickly and cracking her eyes open. He could just barely see her eyelashes move. Her head then tilted up a little to meet his gaze. What he spotted startled him. Her features were almost completely open. Nothing hidden, or hooded. It revealed a lined, exhausted visage she rarely presented to the world. Seeing it left him breathless.

He said the only thing he could think of when confronted with that sleepy, blue-eyed look. "Hi."

"Hi." She rasped back. Moving slowly, she sat up, using her good arm to press back against his chest. Half her face was red with lines from sleeping on his rumpled shirt. She sat back completely, not seeming to realize she was essentially sitting on his knee now. Her face grimaced. "What happened?"

"Remember the explosion?" He asked.

Her gaze darkened. The openness vanished. Then she turned her head away and whispered out her answer, though she didn't need to voice it for him to read her body language now. "Yes. I remember."

"Seems throwing you across the room so soon after your convalescence wasn't good for your health." He grinned at her, trying to lighten her mood. Maybe he could bring that look back.

She smiled back at him, almost unwillingly so.

"After I put your shoulder back in, you started reacting to the Razor Sill poison again. It screwed with your ability to concentrate on the task at hand. Mainly me and I don't like being ignored."

Blinking in surprise, she looked down at her bandaged leg, putting a gentle hand off to the side of the cut as if to hold it steady for viewing.

"Should be fine now." He tried to reassure her.

"It aches."

Unaccustomed to the vulnerable edge to her voice, Nikola had to swallow before he could speak. They needed a change of subject. "Well, when you failed to respond to my suggestive comments, I knew something was very wrong."

She smirked, putting one hand on his chest again to get unsteadily to her feet.

He unconsciously put his hands on both her hips to help her steady herself. "Easy."

A genuine smile lit up her face like sunshine after a heavy storm. One hell of a storm. "I'm alright."

"Yeah, but falling seems like a bad idea at the moment, don't you think?"

She did a kind of a hop backwards on her good leg so that she could turn without stressing her bad one. Upon seeing the fridge in front of the door, she grew serious. "How long have we... I-?"

He stretched, getting up to his feet. "Few hours."

Her brow creased as she looked him in the eye. "You... you held..."

Uncomfortable, he responded flippantly while pushing past her, so she wouldn't be looking too closely at him while he responded. "Yeah, let's not make a big deal of it. You're too pushy for my own good and I'd rather not focus on being forced to be a mattress." He turned back to her.

A sad look crossed her face briefly, or it could have been his imagination, he wasn't sure. Then her forehead tilted toward him, eyes wide but hooded by her brow as she smiled. He recognized it for what it was; a thank you. He rolled his eyes, jerking his own head to the side in silent acknowledgment and dismissal. "You think you can keep up?"

She stomped her foot a little to test it. "I think, sort of. Better take it slow though."

"Alrighty then. First," He held up one clawed digit. "-we find the maid." He strode over, shoved the fridge aside and cautiously opened the door.

-((-))-


	11. Dodging

Author's Note: Yes, Nikola does know how to ruin a perfectly good moment.

I've felt some apprehension about this fic, worried that I was going to disappoint all you lovely people reading it. It started to translate into my work, which has made it increasingly difficult to write. It was like wading through hardening cement. I took an extra day to rewrite this chapter and it got back to what I had wanted. So to sum up- chapters may be a bit further apart from now on, as I try to focus more on the story and my own likes and dislikes rather than anyone elses. Still, your encouragement and praise make it easier and light my day, so thank you to all.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Dodging

Nikola reached the door first and tried to open it, but was surprised to find it still locked. "Strange." He glanced back over his shoulder, to where Helen had just barely limped to his position. She was moving remarkably well and had even managed to help some when he had lifted her above the gap of now none existent stairs to get to the second floor. Right now, a frown creased her brow and she looked uncertainly from side to side down the hall.

Carefully, he unlocked and opened the door, mindful of possible traps as he stepped beyond the threshold. It took him a moment, but eventually he managed to spot the woman they sought huddled on the floor. She was curled in on herself, not even looking up as they entered.

"She hasn't moved an inch." Helen breathed.

They shared a look. If she was still this out of it, could she even have set such a trap for them? Immediately he went to the door and looked out, standing guard as she limped over to the young woman, gently took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, dear. It's not safe here."

"Not safe anywhere in this damn house." He commented darkly. At this moment, he was really missing his previous predicament in the kitchen. At least there he had an enemy to focus his anger on and Helen pressed against him. The maid's presence here and seeming innocence put a crimp in his plans. Scrunching his nose up in distaste, Nikola thought about the ramifications of this turn of events. He had meant for this whole situation to be far simpler than it was. When Helen had shown up at his door he should have known it was a portent of complications galore. With her it always was. Now, if the maid was innocent, it meant there was someone else in this house responsible for Helen's injuries and the state of his brand new suit.

He held the door open for the two women to shuffle through. Hustling them along down the hallway toward his lab, he was careful to keep his eyes open wide and darkened so he didn't miss a single thing. They entered the lab slowly. The room appeared to be untouched but he still moved quickly and cautiously to grab the device for switching the house shield's power source from its stand. At least they were having some luck. He turned back toward the two women.

The maid was pale and staring at the floor like she was going to pass out at any moment, which meant that Helen was too distracted to pay much attention to what he was doing. When he shoved the device toward her she took it without looking round. He felt the bite of jealousy touch his chest, tightening it into steel. After having her to himself for the past few days while she recuperated, it stung far more than he was used to for her focus to be elsewhere. "Stay here a moment." He growled to them. To his surprise Helen didn't object, instead tucking the device under her arm and holding the maid closer.

He checked the rest of the second floor, but found no one. There were no traps here either. So, perhaps the perpetrator had trapped themselves on the lower levels with the same explosion that had blasted he and Helen off their feet. Which meant the main floor and basement rooms were even more dangerous than they had thought. Finally returning to Helen's side, he pulled the women to the top of the stairs, wrapped his arms around both of them and leapt down back to the entry hall.

The second he set them down, Helen quickly took the maid into the kitchen without even a word.

He followed a little grumpily. What, was he suddenly invisible to her now? "You could at least say 'thank you'. I'm not an elevator you know."

She only cast him a confused scowl before turning her attention away again. "It's alright." Helen guided the shaking girl to a safe corner near the stove. "Just stay here and don't make any noise. We'll be right back."

The maid sunk to the floor, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees. Nikola rolled his shoulders uncertainly. Not that he would ever admit it, but he felt slightly bad for the young woman, caught up in a mess she really had nothing to do with.

Helen stood and pulled the sling around her arm off.

"Whoa, you think that's such a good idea? Not that I'm complaining, you can strip in front of me anytime you want, but-"

"Nikola." She gave him a disgusted glance and returned her attention to her arm, wincing. "It's healed enough to use and I can't use it in a sling. I'll be careful." She looked back over at the girl on the floor. "We need to find whoever tried to kill us before they try again. I don't want her getting caught in the middle of this any more than she already is. She could get hurt."

He could see her hesitancy, the way her brow furrowed in concern at the girl. She obviously was worried. And damn it, if Helen didn't want to be by his side, he wouldn't force her. "You can stay here, you know." He turned away. "I can search on my own and I know you probably want-"

"Nonsense, Nikola." When he turned back, Helen gave him a reproachful look. "I want to find out who tried to kill us just as much as you do."

He caught sight of the look smoldering in her eyes. Her irises had almost changed color, hardening from softened stormy sky to a strong steel blue that might have been responsible for the death of the dinosaurs, it was so _intense_. He supposed it was a good thing she was as good a shot left handed as she was right but when she got that glint in her eye, he began to rethink his appreciation of her having a gun.

She moved over to the table where he had discarded his suit jacket, wrapped the device up in it and twisted the thing up so as to tie it round her back like a backpack. Her arm stilted her movements awkwardly, but she accomplished the task quickly. That done, she limped over to his side, taking her gun from it's holster. "Besides, I'm not about to let you out of my sight."

Instantly, his chest lightened and puffed out slightly.

"Shall we?" She reached for the door.

He let half his mouth quirk up into a smile. "You know, you're hot when you're armed."

She merely pursed her lips, so obviously suppressing a grin but saying nothing

He allowed himself a smug smile before heading out the door after her and quickly scanning the area. The house still seemed unnaturally quiet, as though the world had stopped within. They added little noise as they moved almost perfectly in sync toward the door to the Amber Grid. Of everything in the house, this was what he was most anxious to check on. If the Amber Grid was damaged in any way, there would be no way for him to switch to it's power store. That meant he and Helen would not be able to get very far without the army outside falling down upon them. Even less now that they had to drag the maid along with them.

Nikola put a hand to the door knob, began opening it, and then felt Helen grab his other arm and jerk backward. He heard a sliding noise come from the door before it flew open so hard and fast it rebounded off the wall beside it. Small, jagged projectiles exploded out, passing right through where he had just been standing. As it was, they missed burying into his chest by mere millimeters and impacted the wall opposite with such force they disappeared from sight. He and Helen overbalanced and fell to the floor.

For several long drawn out moments, they lay where they had landed, panting with the adrenaline pouring through their veins. He was half on top of her, unable to do anything but stare back at her. She looked scared. It wasn't often that he actually saw Helen Magnus afraid.

After both of them had finally caught their breaths, she stirred. "Nikola."

"Yes, dear?"

"You're laying on my bad leg."

He rolled off hurriedly. "And here I thought you were going to say something romantic." He grinned.

"Really? Even after a close call like that?" She asked incredulously.

"I can't help it if you want me that badly." He retorted, rising to his feet. He made a show of dusting himself off, while really watching her sit up slowly. She didn't look injured further, just jarred. The bag with the device had slipped into the protective circle under her arm, thankfully.

She put a hand on her bad shoulder and grimaced. "Ow." Then she looked up at him and held out her hand.

Nikola eyed it. "You'd think you would learn not to fall when you're injured."

Her expression hardened and her nose wrinkled. "Stop poking fun and help me up."

He laughed and carefully helped her to stand. Her eyes traveled across the floor till she found the gun that had been knocked from her hand and retrieved it.

His eyes darkened as he put a hand back on the slightly open door."Ready?" He asked.

-((-))-


	12. Capturing

Author's Note: Hey there people! Thank you so much for the Reviews, Alerts, and Favorites; they make my day. I had to make Helen a little grumpier in this one. She's in pain and being in pain tends to make people cross. I don't see why she should be immune. Plus, Nikola handling an angry Helen is one of my favorite things to observe and write. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Capturing

Helen nodded to indicate she was prepared, leveling her gun at the entrance to the Amber Grid.

After letting out a long breath, Nikola quickly pulled the basement door open the rest of the way. Nothing immediately jumped out at them, which he took as a good sign. The exposed wires were gone, blasted apart, which meant no light to turn on. They both stood looking down into the darkness, neither eager to be the first to descend. "Well, ladies first." He finally said, smiling and bowing her toward the door.

"Nikola?"

"Yes?"

"Get in the damn basement." She handed him a small flashlight from somewhere on her person, practically shoving it into his chest as she gave him a mock scowl.

"Bossy, as always." He sighed, suppressing a grin, wondering where she kept all this random equipment. How many secret holsters or pockets could one woman possess? And in clothing as careworn and shredding as hers? Flashlight dimly lighting the way, he started down the stairs. His steps were cautious, trying to be aware of every sound and shift of shadows. As much as he enjoyed being blown up and almost impaled, he was not looking forward to experiencing it again any time soon. His darkened eyes made use of what little light there was to it's fullest extent, showing him no one lurking in his single sweep of the large room. He let his eyes clear, bringing his sight back down to normal. The sound of Helen's boots followed him, but he was already crouched down and surveying the amber columns critically before she even got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Nikola?"

He didn't answer right away, too absorbed in what he was doing.

She let him be, standing in silence out of the way near the wall with her drawn gun still at the ready.

Finally, he let out a breath and looked her way. "Doesn't appear to be any tampering with the device itself."

"That's odd." She looked around at the shadows surrounding them, as though someone or something was going to jump out at them at any moment. "You'd think it would be the first thing they would go after."

"Maybe whoever it was isn't as stupid as I assumed. You go blowing up random equipment in _my_ lab, you're likely to get yourself killed just on accident."

"Or it means they wanted something." Helen supplied seriously. "Perhaps they simply didn't want to blow up their prize."

"Perhaps." He shrugged, turning back to the Grid. "In any event, hand me that."

She carefully removed the bundle from her back and handed it over without comment.

He took almost ten minutes to get it hooked up, ready to be activated when he made the remote switch. Helen simply stood near his back, her weapon hanging just within the periphery of his vision, obviously ready should someone make a move on them. When he finally finished and sat back on his heels, something caught his eye.

Before he could take a closer look, a sound like a gunshot rang out from above, making him jerk around and peer at the ceiling. Helen was doing the same. They shared a glance and then started quickly up the stairs together, with him practically lifting her up the steps to hurry them along.

Bursting through the door at the top, he caught the faint sound of groans from somewhere in the living room off the side of the entrance hall. Bringing out his claws and darkening his eyes to enhance his reaction time, he made his way quietly to the arched entryway. Peeking around the wall, he half turned to Helen and held up a single finger to indicate how many were in the room.

She nodded.

Together, they rushed into the room. He peered around, in case there were more people hanging about, while Helen instantly pointed her gun at the man laying on the floor, moaning as he rocked back and forth on the spot. "He ran into one of _my_ traps." She huffed triumphantly. Her voice was slightly strained as he saw her trying to control her limp.

Bending down, Nikola retrieved an odd looking wire contraption from the floor a ways away. "An electrical trap designed to stun the victim into unconsciousness." He looked up at her. "My kind of girl."

"Yes, we've established that." Helen replied tartly, kicking a weapon away from the man's limp hand and then bending down to check his pulse.

A hand shot out, grabbed her hand with the gun, and twisted.

With a cry, Helen fell to the floor, trying to keep her arm from breaking as it was bent awkwardly.

"Helen!" Before he could do more than take a few hurried steps in their direction, the man used the gun still clutched in her hand and shot him a few times square in the chest. Fire ripped through his chest as though the bullets were made of hot lead, stifling his breathing. Against his will, Nikola slumped to his knees, trying to see beyond the haze that sprang into his vision. Though it was a momentary distraction, he still had to struggle through the pain, teeth growing and sharpening to points as he exerted himself with a strained snarl. The first thing he could make out was the gun that was laying on the floor close to his knee. He raised his head. As the room came swimming back into view, he saw Helen and the man struggling on the floor. With satisfaction, he watched her slam her elbow into the guy's chest hard and then roll up onto her knees.

The man kicked her in the side and raised a fist to strike her.

Thinking fast, knowing he couldn't quiet move fast enough right now to get between Helen and that fist, Nikola picked up the gun and fired it.

The two people jerked backward as the bullet passed between them, but Helen was quicker on the recovery. A bit of a yelp left Helen's lips as her fist made contact with the man's jaw with a sickening crunch that laid him out flat on the faded red rug. Shaking her hand out vigorously, she turned her furious gaze back his way. "You almost shot me!" She shouted at him breathlessly.

"You know I'm terrible with guns!" Nikola said defensively, holding the weapon out with one finger in distaste. He really did hate the things, especially right now while his chest was stinging like mad.

She struggled up from her knees to her feet and headed his way. He watched her in amazement as she managed to stalk while limping. He hadn't known that was possible. She snatched the weapon from him.

"At least I distracted him." He added sullenly.

"I could have taken his punch just fine."

"You prefer that option to the actual outcome?" He asked incredulously.

"I prefer being hit to taking a bullet, thank you." She growled, checking the number of bullets remaining in the cartridge before tucking it into the back of her pants.

"I appreciate you finally showing some gratitude." He quipped.

Helen rolled her eyes and went to retrieve her own weapon where it had been thrown during the struggle.

Moaning, Nikola climbed up to his feet. With a few experimental coughs, he shook out his whole body to rid it of the last vestiges of the tingling pain. He saw Helen glance critically at his chest before looking back at her gun.

"While I realize you were trying to help, next time, leave the shooting to me."

"Gladly." He said with a cocky grin. "You're sexy when you shoot me."

"Do not tempt me right now Nikola, I am not above it in my current mood." She put a hand to her bad shoulder, closing her eyes. Despite her obvious efforts to the contrary, he could tell she was in pain. The faint lines around her eyes creased as she tried to bury it again.

"Get the trap you made, I'll tie him up." He pointed at the contraption that had somehow made it into the corner, before bending down and using the man's own belt to bind his hands behind his back. When she returned to his side, he began to drag the man across the carpet.

Suddenly, Helen put a hand out to stop him.

He glanced over at her frown. "Trap?" He asked, looking around for what he'd missed. Wherever it was, it was well hidden.

She started moving around, taking a different path then they had been on and he followed her. "One of mine." She spoke over her shoulder. "Feel free to blunder into it if you've a mind to, but please wait till I'm not in the vicinity."

Based on her tone, he could tell she was obviously still angry. "Hey, I didn't actually hit you with the bullet, did I? The way your acting, you'd think I'd stolen another kiss from you."

She shot him a scowl. "Either way, as pleasant as it was, I'd rather not take another nap on your lap."

"Now, now Helen-" He stopped, both movement and speech, dropping the man's leg with a loud thump, eyebrows almost touching his hairline.

She stopped too, slight alarm clear in her eyes as they darted around the area. "What is it?" Finally, her gaze focused back on his face.

"You just said sleeping on me was 'pleasant'." He smirked at her.

Her eyes went round, shocked into speechlessness. Then she frowned. "Didn't."

"Did." He shot back in a sing-song voice. Oh, he was going to enjoy this.

"Can we please focus, Nikola?"

"Of course... if your capable with my 'pleasantness' so close." He purred in response.

She just growled and stepped carefully to the side back along the path they had used to enter the room.

Oh yeah, this was going to be good ammo for the next _year_ or so. He chuckled, grabbed up the man's leg again, and continued dragging him back toward the kitchen.

-((-))-


	13. Finding

Author's Note: Hello hello! Here's your next chapter and just so you know, I will not be adding a new chapter the day after Christmas, which I celebrate. Instead, I've decided to try and finish another chapter early. We'll see if it works out. If not, I'll add two the week after Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Finding

Helen's POV-

Nikola Tesla in a word..._shootable_. If there was such a word. And if there wasn't, Helen was quite prepared to call up anyone she needed to in order to see that it was added to the dictionary with her dear friend Nikola as the given definition.

He had shot at her.Actually _shot_ at her.

There seemed to be a distinct part of her brain that was struggling to control her anger while another was still trying to process the situation, making the whole side of her head throb. The pain of it was even enough to drown out the ache of her bruised stomach and misused arm and leg. She ground her teeth together, trying to hold herself in check.On the one hand, if he hadn't done what he did, she might have been in trouble. She was big enough to admit that. Hand to hand combat wasn't a good idea when you _weren't_ already injured, much less when you _were_. The shot _had _missed and it had distracted the man long enough for her to knock him out cold.

Therefore, outcome: good.

Yet still... He. Had. Shot. At. Her.

With a gun. Which he wasn't good at handling to begin with. Just the fact that he would fire a weapon so close to her body was enough to curdle her blood. In fact, just thinking about him right now was making her angrier by the minute and causing her to feel slightly nauseous. Ugh. This was even worse than the time she had caught Will shooting in her general direction with his eyes closed. Whatever anyone else thought, her proteges' rookie days hadn't just been rough on _him_. At least he had had the excuse of being new to such situations though.

"Could this guy weigh any more?" Nikola huffed as he stepped into the kitchen behind her, lugging the prisoner by one leg across the floor.

She _could_ shoot him. Just to get it out of her system and stop his complaining. He _was_ just complaining. A vampire who could lift roughly a ton wouldn't really strain in dragging a man across the carpet, even shot a few times as he had been. In fact, she seriously considered pulling out her gun and following through on giving him another to think over. It's not like it would kill him.

Still, he had been trying to help her. Her inability to get the image of those bullets from her gun disappearing into Nikola's chest out of her mind made her decide that ignoring him and his whining was the better option. She was already at the side of the young maid they had left in a corner of the room by the time he let the limb in his hand flop to the floor and dragged the refrigerator across the doorway. Kneeling down carefully as her leg twinged sharply, she began asking the maid if she was alright and carefully tucked hair out of the girl's face to behind her ear.

The young woman did not respond, simply staring off into space without acknowledging them.

"Oh no, I couldn't use a hand at all. Don't you worry, I'm good." Nikola said loudly, lifting the limp body into a chair, where the man immediately slumped forward with his chin to his chest.

"Hush, Nikola." She said grumpily over her shoulder, before double-checking the girl's vitals.

"You know, not many people would put up with your abuse." He pouted at her.

"Funny, I was just about to say much the same thing about you and your sarcasm." She quipped back. Darn him, he was trying to make her smile but so help her, it wasn't going to work.

"And that's not saying anything about you." He said back dryly.

Ignoring his snarky reply, Helen got the girl to meet her eyes finally. She gave her a reassuring nod with a smile, then stood back up, her eye catching on something odd. Something about the way Nikola was moving around seemed off, so while trying to be unobtrusive, she kept one eye trained his way. The angle he bent at to tie the man's hands to the chair was stilted. She saw enough just from that to realize what it was she was looking at.

When he finished what he was doing and strolled in front of the chair, she grabbed his arm. Brow furrowed, he turned back to her. Without commenting, she stepped closer, giving him a coy smile that was effective in shocking him as much as she had hoped it would so that he wouldn't move. Otherwise, he would never hold still. Not for her. She gently started unbuttoning his ragged looking shirt without looking away from his gaze or letting the smile slip.

He finally recovered enough to protest lightly, swatting at her hands but not effectively enough to stop her. Perhaps he wasn't trying to be effective.

The thought sped up her treacherous heartbeat considerably, making what she was trying to do even harder.

"Helen-" He stepped a little closer so he could speak lower, glancing furtively toward the maid in the corner. "-as much as this excites me, and I _am_ saying we should follow this line of thought very soon, perhaps right now isn't a good ti-" He cut off jaggedly when she finished with the buttons and pulled his shirt edges to his side, trailing her fingertips behind.

Was it just her imagination running rampant or was he suddenly a little unsteady on his feet? Stepping even closer, she distracted him by getting very close to his cheek with her lips while she ran a hand along the hard planes of his chest.

He sucked in an unsteady breath. "Well, if you're insisting..." His hands slipped up to grab onto her hips for support.

Sliding her fingers lower, Helen at last touched a rough spot on his otherwise smooth abdomen.

Immediately, Nikola flinched. He pulled sharply away from her touch, eyes going round as he stared at her.

"Ha!" She stated triumphantly, pointing a finger at him. "I knew it. Your regeneration _is_ slowing down."

"Y-you little _minx_!" He spluttered.

It was all she could do not to laugh at that. "You were going to lie to me?"

"Not exactly. It's nothing, really." He mumbled.

"Nothing my eye, Nikola! You could have said something." He was giving her his sullen look now, so she breathed a sigh and softened her tone. "How long has it been since you took your medicine?"

"Helen-"

"How long?" She persisted stubbornly. If he hadn't taken that medicine in too long, he not only risked running out of his 'extra lives', but also of losing his control and trying to feed on one of _them_. It was something he had sworn long ago not to do.

There was a beat of silence, as though he was contemplating on whether of not to answer her.

"A few days."

Helen rolled her head in disbelieving disgust. "Nikola!"

"I was going to be back soon enough. I wasn't expecting _you_ to show up, now was I?"

"And that's an excuse not to carry enough with you?" She bit out angrily. "Or to keep it a secret that you had run out?"

His lips pressed harder together as his eyes flashed at her. "I was hoping we could get out of here before that was necessary."

"How much longer can you go, a few days?" She asked, not to be distracted.

Sighing, he looked down at himself. "At this rate, more like a few hours."

"So now, we have to make sure _you_ don't get shot anymore either."

He shrugged. "It would be better, I suppose." His fingers started working at buttoning up his shirt again.

"Ah ah." She slapped his hands away. "Not until I take a look. Up on the counter." A flippant gesture was sent at the small island in the middle of the kitchen.

His nose wrinkled. "Seriously?"

"Very." Her tone brooked no argument as she turned to scrub her hands clean.

He groaned grumpily, complying and hauling himself up onto the table. For a minute he just watched her as she pulled the med kit from it's drawer and set it out, ready for use. Then he grinned at her and leaned closer. "I know of some more interesting procedures if you want to play doctor."

Ignoring him, she pulled his shirt further to the side and carefully examined the wound just under his ribs. The skin was torn, bleeding sluggishly as it struggled to close. She could still see the butt of the bullet just inside. "Alright, hold still." There weren't any gloves, so she just had to hope his unique physiology would add extra protection against infection. It took her only a moment to pull out the small pair of tweezers from the inside flap of the med kit.

As she started to try and dig the bullet out, Nikola pulled back. "Ouch!"

"Oh, don't be such an infant. I said hold still." She grumbled, pulling him back to her by snagging his belt with one finger. After several minutes of precise work, she managed to nab the bullet and pull it free. When she glanced away from the bloody projectile up at Nikola's face, she spotted his pained expression just before he tried to cover it up. Immediately she felt concern flare in her chest, placing a hand back on his chest. "Easy." She soothed, pulling out a bandage with the other hand.

"I don't need that." He complained once he spotted it.

"Until you're better, yes you do. Doctor's orders." Was her matter-of-fact reply.

He gave her that soft, almost vulnerable look that stilled her lungs mid-breath every time.

She shook her head. He was trying to distract her, the cheeky little bugger. Heaven forbid that anyone saw him actually hurting. She supposed it was natural. Being a vampire, he was used to being able to shake off getting shot. When everyone else ran for cover, he didn't have to; he was protected by his own state of being. He was used to being able to protect himself, not being protected by others. The nurturing instinct didn't come naturally to him, but it fit him well when he decided to use it. Now he was almost as vulnerable as she was. It must be as disconcerting as hell.

They certainly were a pair, she thought dryly. Her fingers had continued on automatic to apply the bandage and she gave the edges one last good press before moving back a little more to look him over. "There, all done."

He held out a hand and crooked several fingers at her to indicate she should lean in toward him, which she did warily. Then he leaned close up to whisper near her ear. "Control freak." Their eyes met as he pulled back, grinning at her like a Cheshire cat. There was a sparkle in his irises, his grin unconsciously showing off his sharp canine tooth in the crook of his upper lip.

At last, she gave him the smile he had been trying to get out of her for the better part of an hour. "Damn straight."

-((-))-


	14. Questioning

Author's Note: So, adding chapters early didn't really work out, so you'll get two pretty close together instead.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Questioning

Helen's POV-

The man tied to the chair rolled his head weakly, trying to wake.

Helen wasn't surprise it was a little hard for him. She had almost broken her hand knocking him out. So she waited patiently for him to rouse, standing not far in front of him with her head tilted to the side in order to see his face properly. When his eyes finally squinted open and slid up her body to meet her eyes, she smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile and it wasn't meant to be. After a careful examination of her feelings, she'd found that she was still royally pissed off. Not so much at Nikola any more; no, her anger had been redirected to the proper outlet. She might have been killed by the bomb this man had set if not for her Nikola. On top of that, he had caused Nikola pain too. Whatever her oldest friend tried to say, she knew it still hurt him when he was injured. Without his medicine, every time he healed increased his need and slowed his abilities to do so again. She had seen the shrapnel he'd pulled from his body; had even bandaged one of the slow-healing bullet holes herself. Right at the moment, it was taking all her control not to shoot this man where he sat for what he had done. "You're awake. Good." She pulled a chair in front of him carelessly and sat, trying not to wince as her leg protested. "You've caused quite a lot of mischief, Mr..."

He didn't fill in the blank. Instead, his eyes darted around, looking over at Nikola who was leaning at the counter watching them and then over to the maid who still sat in the corner without looking up. Then his eyes trailed her up and down.

Despite her continuing cool exterior, Helen felt her skin crawl as his gaze licked over her. A steely grip formed around her stomach but she spoke through it, keeping her tone light. "Frankly, you're lucky you're still alive. I had half a mind to feed you to my friend over there for trying so ardently to do us in." She jerked her head back at Nikola. Right on cue, she saw out of the corner of her eye him giving that threatening little snarl of a smile. Without even turning to see it properly, she shivered slightly, though not so that the man before her would notice.

"Yeah... right." The man murmured, looking at her as though he wasn't convinced.

"You don't believe me capable?" She questioned with a small smile. "Perhaps you aren't aware of the reality of your situation. Let me enlighten you." Shifting slightly, she leaned forward a bit. "You currently find yourself a prisoner of two people who are slightly on edge because of an army outside just waiting for a single sign of weakness to come barreling in here, 'guns blazing' as they say. People who have narrowly missed dying at your hands on several occasions in just the past few hours. While one is a doctor, the other is a vampire who hasn't had his medicine, or food if you like, in quite some time. Being hungry is not the best thing to be during such times as these. He also happens to be my friend and therefore quite a bit more important to me than you are. And as you are the cause of both the throbbing in my ribs, and also the pain in my shoulder, I haven't much of an inclination to be kind to you. So you see, you find yourself locked away under the unfortunate circumstance of being the most appetizing thing in this room."

The man's eyes widened as she spoke and at the last sentence flicked over to the maid in the corner.

"She works for said vampire." Helen said dryly without looking round. "He may be hungry, but he's not going to feed on his employee. I'm afraid that just leaves you."

The man turned sullen, glaring at her.

"Now that you understand, I'd like to ask you why you have been trying to kill us."

His lips thinned.

She shrugged. "I suppose it matters little. What do you think?" She asked the question over her shoulder at Nikola.

"I don't see how it matters at all." Nikola answered flippantly with one raised eyebrow. "Whatever the reason, we should just kill him and be done with it."

"Screw you." The man bit out in the vampires direction.

Nikola barely started forward before her hand raised to stall him.

"Now you're just trying to get yourself killed." She stated in a low voice. "Why is that, I wonder? Could it be that you know something? Something you are aware would get you into a situation where our company would be pleasant by comparison?"

Though his eyes fixated on the floor, she saw them flicker and knew she was right.

"Care to share? Perhaps we can offer you some protection."

He said nothing, dark eyes angry as he looked up at her again.

"Very well." She stood. "Since you have such an unfortunate vocabulary when you decide to speak, I'm afraid you'll have to be gagged while we make sure you have left no more surprises for us."

Before she even finished speaking, Nikola was applying the gag, being none to gentle as he tightened it. When the vampire moved back to her side, she turned from the man toward the maid. "We'll be right back." She left the kitchen with Nikola, drawing her gun as she went.

Outside, they slid seamlessly beside each other, though each had a handicap now that stilted their movements. Hers may still be more debilitating than his, but damn if she didn't stay as close to him as humanly possible in case he faltered. It was all she could do not to sigh in frustration at herself. Only Nikola could get her in a state from wanting to shoot him to worrying over him in a matter of seconds.

It didn't take them long to check the remainder of the first floor. It was the basement supply room that consumed their time like a child after a pile of sweets. Just as it had been when she had gone down into it for supplies, the room was dark, with tall ceilings and far-away walls. It was huge and filled to the brim with so much brick-a-brack it was a wonder she had been able to find anything at all within it. But even amongst the dusty contents and long stairway into the depths, they moved cautiously. They parted to either side of the room. It was pitch black, the beam of her torch the only thing disrupting the gloom. Her heartbeat sped up as she tried to pay attention to every sound, every movement that met her senses. A single click could mean life or death down here. She was listening so intensely that she started in surprise when a loud crashing sound met her ears, swinging her gun in it's direction and advancing quickly. Practically running as she rounded a corner, she found Nikola on the other end, holding up his hands with his feet buried in refuse.

He gave her a apologetic smile.

She finally breathed a somewhat shaky sigh of relief, holstering her weapon. "He must really be the only one."

"Lot of damage for just one little bastard." Nikola mumbled, rolling a shoulder and trying to surreptitiously rub at his chest.

"Granted." She inclined her head and shone her light back toward the stairs they had come down. "Perhaps we best get back. I hate to think of that smarmy little toad in the same room as poor Cornelia even if he is tied up and gagged."

"Was that the maid's name?" He asked in surprise.

Not paying attention to his comment, she jerked her head toward the stairs. "Come on then." She set off down the jagged aisle cut in the middle of the debris. Her eyes squinted when they got back into the main hall, the light coming through the windows overly bright after the darkness. "So, what do you suppose we should do with him? We need to be leaving soon."

"Honestly? Leave him where he is. I'll bet he was just working in advance of the thugs outside anyway."

"Probably." She walked up to the door to the kitchen, relieved they were finally finished moving around so much. As restive as she had found it, her 'few hours' nap on Nikola was too long ago. She had a pounding headache and her leg ached down to the bone. At least her shoulder had settled down a little. "But what if he isn't? They might kill him."

"It's gonna be hard enough with the space case." Nikola growled behind her. "Don't go getting attached to the potential killer. We can't bring all of your adopted strays along for the trip."

Giving him a reproachful look over her shoulder, she reached forward, and pulled on the door.

-((-))-


	15. Giving

Author's Note: Yeah, you'd think they would be a little more careful around doors after what almost happened last time, but their guard was down and I think I've proven I'm mean to poor Helen and Nikola. I didn't think it was that much of a cliffhanger but you all seem anxious enough. And yes I know, another Helen's point-of-view chapter after having two already, but it was necessary.

You're lucky though. I've got a fiction that hasn't been updated in a year. I'm just about dying to see the ending to it. *Sigh* Perhaps I'll drown my sorrow in more writing. You guys don't mind, do you? ;)

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Giving

Helen's POV-

Something snapped above her head. Before Helen could react, something else apparently made of hard iron wrapped around her middle and practically lifted her off her feet as it swung her back and away from the path of a falling support beam. She bit back a cry as it painfully compressed her already bruised ribs because the doorway in front of her was in the middle of collapsing and she wasn't of a mind to complain that she wasn't still under it.

Cracks snaked up the wall, large tears forming in the plaster as parts of the wall moved separately from the rest. The resounding peal of splintering wood and a choking cloud of dust filled the air. Whatever had wrapped around her middle let go, allowing dirty air to spread back into her lungs. "Bloody hell!" She exclaimed, coughing and falling against the wall behind her, staring at the rubble that used to be the doorway into the kitchen. From what she could spot through the haze, the room beyond looked in a similar state. She had to stop trying to see though. The dust was too thick, the grit entering her eyes starting to burn so that her eyes watered terribly. Deep coughs wracked her frame, growing so strong that she had to bend double to get enough air.

Nikola had one arm protectively in front of her, which she was leaning on to steady herself without even thinking about it. He placed one hand on her back as she tried to clear her airway. It was only then that she realized it must have been his arm around her middle, pulling her back from danger. His thin muscle beneath her fingertips was as hard as steel. "Thanks." She said breathlessly. Looking up at his grim expression, she gave him an uncertain smile. He didn't usually take gratitude graciously.

He turned from staring at the rubble and opened his mouth, no doubt to say something sarcastic to ruin her goodwill toward him but a door slammed above them. As one, their heads jerked upward. "Roof access." He identified, starting to pull her away. "Come on!"

"But-" She disentangled herself from his grasp. Her hand reached futilely back toward what was left of the kitchen. The collapse had obviously encompassed most of the room and her sluggish brain could only think of the woman who might still be on the other side.

"_Helen._" Nikola spun her to face him, took her by the upper arms and physically shook her. "If Cornelia's alive, she'll be with _him_. We need to go, now!"

She blinked at him in shock. Did he really just shake her? What was the matter with him? A little desperately, she nodded, still trying to blink dust from her eyes. "Yes- alright." Her voice was faint. This fierceness coming from him was putting her on edge and stealing her what remained of her strength.

Without another word, he took her by the hand and began pulling her along behind him.

She watched the way he moved.

The hard lines of his body were stiff and almost frantic in their movements as he ran. To anyone else, he would probably look like he was furious.

To her familiar eye, he looked... scared. It was the only word for it that she could come up with. She stumbled after him, wondering what could possibly force this reaction from him. Fear was something Nikola rarely showed even if he felt it. She could count on one hand the number of times she had seen true fear in him since he'd become a vampire. What did you have to fear when you were so very hard to kill? Her eyes widened as he swung her around close to the steps, hands going to her waist and lifting before she could utter a word of protest.

Scared for... her?

His eyes darkened, claws growing long and sharp. He clawed his way part way up the wall and then jumped the rest of the distance up to the second floor with little effort, hauling her to her feet. "Down the hall." He voiced gruffly.

She glanced at his face as he grabbed her again. Her unusually slow brain was starting to feel uncertain if they should be rushing so quickly after such an apparently dangerous man. To be honest, he hadn't seemed like much of a threat, even when she had been fighting with him hand-to-hand. He had almost killed both of them twice already though. Despite her misgivings, she kept her peace, deciding to ignore the way Nikola was all but crushing her hand in his.

When they arrived at the correct door, he finally slowed down to open it with caution. It creaked as it swung wide, revealing a old, narrow wooden staircase. After waiting a moment to be sure it wasn't going to explode or anything, he started pulling her up the stairs quietly.

Finally growing tired of being hauled about, she extricated her hand from his and used the walls to either side to pull herself along behind him. The stairway spiraled around a central point, old faded markings all along the walls. At any other time, she might have stopped to look at them, but just as the door to the roof came into view, it blasted back and a loud boom made the walls quake. Instinctively, she plastered herself against one side. Something whistled as it flew through the air and buried into Nikola's chest, taking him off his feet and backward down the stairs into her. She tried in vain to catch him, but only succeeded in loosing her balance and tumbling with him partway down the stairs. It was probably for the best as the tumble took her out of view of the door above and consequently, any line of fire. When she stopped falling she was on her back, a few hard steps digging into her spine, feeling nauseous as her leg throbbed at her. Though her head was still spinning, she stumbled up from her prone position to follow after the way Nikola had continued to fall. She couldn't stop herself from sliding the rest of the way down the stairs like a drunkard only to land on something soft. As the sudden vertigo slowly receded, she found herself laying half on top of her friend at the bottom of the stairs. She lifted her head, realizing with something akin to horror that there was blood on her cheek and hand. Dark red coating her fingers. Eyes trailing up Nikola's body, her breath was taken forcibly from her to see a spear-like harpoon jutting from his chest. "Nikola!"

His open mouth let out a gurgling cough, spilling dark blood onto his cheek, but nothing more.

"Dear god, Nikola." Quickly she rolled him onto his side to help with his breathing and examined the exit wound in his back. The passage went right between two of his ribs, splitting them wide. The harpoon sprouted from his back like some kind of sick appendage, covered in slick gore. The tip was blunt rather than sharp, meaning it wasn't as clean a wound as she had hoped. She needed to remove the weapon so his abilities could heal him properly, so she knelt half on his chest despite his pain-filled cry and inch by agonizing inch forced the harpoon the rest of the way out the back. Thankfully, her doctor's brain blocked out most of his screams to leave her with some of her sanity remaining. Once the harpoon was clear and she had tossed it as far away as possible, she used her sleeve to wipe at the blood to see his skin. It wasn't closing fast enough. "Damn it." She tore her jacket off completely, ignoring the way her shoulder protested the action and pressed it heavily on the bleeding, gaping wound in front, trying to stem the flow.

"Hey." He coughed indignantly, staining his lips with more blood. His head tilted further to the side so he could see her. "That h-hurts you know." He tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace. Then his eyes fluttered shut again.

Taking another peek at the progress of his healing abilities, she felt fear tighten around her chest. It had barely closed up at all. Even applying pressure wasn't doing enough to help the wound heal. Fumbling at her belt, she took out the needle hidden near the buckle. With her teeth, she ripped a seam on her sleeve for the thread. Quickly, she used her make-shift medical supplies to do a rough stitch on the front wound, only praying that it would do enough that he could heal the internal damage on his own. After a seconds pause when she had finished though, she could see the flesh around the wound darkening. He was bleeding out internally too fast for his weakened body to keep up. At this rate, he was going to bleed to death!

Without her acknowledgment or consent, she started mumbling under her breath too low for him to really hear her, pressing hard against the wound as tears blurred her vision. "No, Nikola. You aren't allowed to die. You hear me? You're not allowed to die and leave me all alone. I have lost_ too_ much already. _No more_. " She looked around frantically for something, anything else she could do. She practically stopped breathing when a thought occurred to her. Using her knee to keep pressure on his wound, she resolutely took out her knife.

Nikola roused a little at that. "Gonna put me down?" He asked weakly, dark eyes still mostly closed.

"Stop trying to be funny." She growled and dug the blade into her right wrist. Sharp pain laced up her arm to her spine.

"H-Helen?" Instantly, Nikola's head came up an inch, which was as far as he could get it, but fell back down almost immediately because he didn't have the strength to hold it there. "What do y-you think you're-"

"Shut up and drink it." She cupped the back of his head and pressed her bleeding wrist to his lips.

"But..." His eyes rolled slightly as the smell filled his nostrils, but he quickly turned his head away. "No... promised-" His protest was weak at best.

They didn't have time for this. "I don't care what you promised! It's not the same when there's an emergency and someone offers you their blood, you know that. Now stop trying to be a _bloody_ hero and drink, or so help me I will knock you unconscious and pour it down your throat!"

He blinked at her groggily for a moment, stunned by her vehemence. Then blessedly, for once, he seemed to listen to her reasoning. His lips touched her skin first and though there was a rather sharp pain already coming from the area, she couldn't help but shiver as his breath brushed over the wound. When his teeth sank in, she bit off a cry, clenching her teeth so hard in order to keep it in that her jaw began to ache. Her essence left her in droves, sliding clear like water through a sieve. It struck her as odd how easy it really was to to die as her thoughts muddled, lost in the sensations ghosting through her system. A chill started at her toes, moving higher and higher the more her blood left her body. When she started to get really light headed, she gently touched Nikola's shoulder.

He didn't even look at her, just continued to draw in her blood.

"Nikola." She said worriedly. When he still didn't stop her tone became urgent. "Nikola!" She jerked her hand away, tearing the skin a little more.

He looked up at her with those unnaturally dark eyes and, after a moment or two of staring at her, they finally began to clear as he blinked rapidly. Without saying a word, he started bringing his ragged breaths back under control, making them deeper and calmer. He was coming back to her.

Hurriedly remembering his wound, she pulled her jacket away from it to look. As she watched, she saw the skin knitting itself back together, leaving only the black bits of thread as proof he had been injured at all. A quick exam of the exit wound on his back showed the same thing. Her eyes came back up to meet his.

He had leaned back again, breathing in great gulps of air slowly. His eyes had irises again, even if they were a little unfocused when he looked at her.

Belatedly realizing her wrist was still issuing sluggish blood onto his already soaked chest, she tore a piece from her now useless jacket and tied it around her wound. It wasn't that bad really. Though it probably needed stitches, she would survive without them. Exhausted, she twisted herself to sit against the wall beside her old friend. Her head was pounding away against her temple, her leg aching dulling, and now her entire right arm was throbbing in time with her heartbeat. Now that panic wasn't fueling adrenaline into her system, she was starting to shake. She felt more run down than she did going a week without sleep. Uncontrollably, she giggled a little.

"What on earth?" Nikola asked in shock, his voice still weak but growing stronger. Jerkily, he turned his head to the side and gave her a concerned look.

Honestly, she had no real idea what was wrong with her. It was proving a little difficult to get her breath back so she could think properly. She was finding herself feeling slightly giddy and lightheaded, like the first time she had tried alcohol all those decades ago. Clinically, she told herself the effects were present simply because of blood loss, but suspected the cause might be something else entirely. Either way, she kept on laughing lightly despite the increasing weight of hidden sobs pressing on her chest.

-((-))-


	16. Intoxicating

Author's Note: Oi! Nice of you to read, hope you like it despite how difficult some of it was to get right and the crappy flow, and without further ado-

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Intoxicating

It was slowly getting easier to breathe. Drawing air into his lungs became a less painful endeavor with every passing second as Helen's blood settled within him. Inside his chest, Nikola could feel things sliding back into place, bones reconnecting, blood flow returning to neglected body parts grown chill. He gasped in a deeper breath, arching slightly at a particularly uncomfortable shift that suddenly made what sharp pain remained recede into a dull ache throughout his chest. A large patch of skin on his chest and back was terribly itchy, but considering the agony it had been only a moment ago, he supposed he'd survive. With a groan, he lifted up on his elbows and blearily considered the last time he had felt _that_ badly since becoming a vampire. At least this time it hadn't been John Druitt's hand going through his abdomen, but a harpoon through the chest was still up there on his list of worst experiences. He blinked slowly but steadily as his vision started really returning to normal, the haze lifting from his eyes like a veil. Ignoring what lingering effects there were, he sat up the rest of the way, leaning on the wall behind him for support, and spat more blood from his mouth. He felt weak as a day old kitten, an odd sensation for any vampire to experience, but he was already growing stronger and he was alive. Rolling his head to the side, he gave the reason for that another concerned look.

Helen Magnus, his oldest friend, his saving angel, was leaning back against the wall like it was a second skeleton. Her legs were spread out in front of her, her dark locks of hair covered in light dust and slightly matted to the side. Her hands, arms, and chest were covered in drying blood, both his and her own. There was even some smeared in a red trail across her left cheek. He could tell by the way even her good arm hung limp in her lap that she was completely exhausted. Eyes half lidded and unfocused, she was staring into space, oblivious to his movements.

At least she'd stopped laughing, for which he was more than grateful. It was disturbing enough to see her like this, but not half as disturbing as seeing it coupled with her laughter as a backdrop. The thought that she had been laughing to hold off tears wouldn't leave his mind either. If anyone deserved tears, it was her, but he so rarely saw her shed them. The few times he had... well, they hadn't turned out to be pleasant experiences for anyone.

Sliding his hand over, he perched it softly on the back of her right arm, coaxing gently till she let him turn her wrist so he could see the growing red stain spreading across the strip of cloth she's tied around her self-inflicted wound. He stared at it. It was a wound made for him. _Blood_ spilled for him. He could still smell it welling up sluggishly from her veins. And if he was not completely mistaking the other reason for the absurd laughter a moment before, fear for him had pulsated along with it. Laughter for his continued life spilling from her lips. He gulped and looked back up at her while twining their fingers together gently. Why she wanted him around, he would never understand, but as long as she was with him, he wasn't going to complain about her saving his life.

She roused at the feeling of his fingers moving through hers and glanced over to give him a weak smile she obviously meant to be reassuring.

It only served to make him more aware of her exhaustion. More aware of her injuries and the sheer amount of abuse her body had been through in the past week. He may just have almost died, but it was _she_ who was pushing through injury after injury, having to strive so much more than he did just to keep going forward. It seemed like she always did, ever since those pricks in "educated society" during her youth. Work twice as hard as any of them and they might notice a female colleague. Or a foreign one. Bastards.

Helen held his fingers back for a second in a death grip, though her hand was trembling in his. Stirring from her position, she rolled slowly up on one knee and looking him over critically. "Alright?" She asked a little breathlessly, eyes swimming with as much concern as he had been directing her way and no little pain for her stilted movements.

"Yeah." He nodded uncertainly, sitting forward slightly to feel what reactions his muscles sent him about attempting anything more. "I think."

"Good." Her gaze returned to the stairway they had fallen down. "Let's go then." She stood shakily to her feet using the wall, leaving behind a faint patch of bloody hand prints, and then held her good arm down to help him up.

He gazed at the stained hand in disbelief for a moment before shaking his head. The breather was over; the second to gather their wits and react to their situation, now past. He should have known. This _was_ Helen Magnus after all. The woman didn't know the meaning of weakness or apparently of stopping for longer than a minute. Taking the proffered help up while trying not to just pull her unsteady form down to the ground, he got to his feet carefully, stretching his chest out and wincing. As long as he moved slowly, he thought it would be all right. He was feeling better after every passing second.

"You can take point again." She gave him a halfhearted cheeky grin as she motioned toward the stairs. "But this time, try to be more careful."

"Yeah. You're one to talk." He retorted, eying her blood-soaked frame up and down yet again to be sure she could walk and wasn't overestimating her stamina. The last thing she needed right now was a nasty fall.

"It's not as though this is the first time we've ended up covered in blood, Nikola." She said, pressing her thumb against her fingers and watching the way they tried to stick together before looking back at him. "And may I remind you that you don't look any better than I do. You're shirt is ruined."

Nikola looked down. "No, you may not remind me." He pouted, pinching a shredded scrap of shirt hanging from his chest and holding it up to sneer at it distastefully.

"We'd better hurry. There's no way of knowing what he's done in the amount of time we've been wasting."

"Wasting?" He blinked and frowned at her. "I was dying, thank you." He brushed past her.

"Not like it's the first time for that either." She said back at him as she followed his steps up the stairs. "This isn't even the first time you've drunk my blood." She added flippantly.

He paused to shoot daggers her way, but she seemed unfazed as she looked up at him with a small smile. She may be tired, but she was obviously lively enough to verbally spar with him. Unfortunately, it was proving hard to concentrate on their banter well enough to come up with a good retort. She smelled so good and not just in the appetizing sense any longer. Her scent pervaded his being, wrapping around him even though she remained a few steps behind him. She smelled like the inside of an old book right now, not musty, but that peculiar clear smell of ages past, present, and future that some tomes seemed able to hide in their depths. It was such a 'Helen' smell. He found himself rejuvenated by the scent; by her. As they climbed the stairs, he _felt_ Helen's presence right behind him as one giant, pulsating heartbeat. The taste of her still lingered tantalizingly on his tongue, making his head swim dizzyingly. She was the finest of bouquets, the most sublime tonic; like an elixir fit only for gods. With her in his very cells, he felt heightened to an almost extrasensory state. When they came out cautiously onto the roof, he looked around him with sharpened sight.

They were on some kind of Widow's Walk, a flat area of roof with a rail on it's edge common to older homes of the area. As they edged round the corner of the small protuberance that housed the door, he caught sight of the girl off to the side bent over something. Something about what she was doing seemed off, but he paid her no mind as he searched around for the man they had captured. Once he spotted the guy hooking something to the railing, his anger renewed. It flared into a separate being, whole and unabashedly consuming, at the memory of Helen sagged against his frame, of her blood, her fear, her pain. He would never forget the look of fear he'd seen cross her features when she had almost been buried under all that rubble downstairs. The sight of her panicked face hovering above him as he bled out flashed before his eyes, whispering pleas and demands at his fading consciousness. His vision shaded red, the anger devouring him, burning hotly in response to the danger that this man had put _his_ Helen in. Eyes darkening, he was at the man's side before he realized what he was doing. His claws tore into the front of the man's shirt before clenching around his throat and lifting him up off his feet, his teeth sharpening to points. He swung the man over the rail so his feet were dangling over the large drop as he breathed a feral snarl into his face.

He felt more than saw Helen pause, eying him and his current captive. "Nikola?" Uncertainty laced her voice, the tremble clear to him in his current state. She was obviously wondering how much control he had over himself right now and if he was honest, he'd have to say not much.

A soft click sounded behind Helen and they both froze.

-((-))-


	17. Catching

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm predictable. How many of you called it? :)

I had so much trouble with this sucker, but I figured I'd better post it before I edit the thing to death, if I haven't already.

Special thanks to Sailor's Wife. I was able to write this chapter only because of your encouragement.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Catching

His vision narrowed instantly, eyes returning to normal, and his claws retracting. Icy chills ran up his spine as the click echoed through his being. Turning his head slowly, Nikola spotted the maid standing behind Helen, grimly holding a gun to the doctor's head. As attuned as he was to her right now, he could see Helen's breath coming out in quick puffs out of the corner of his eye, her heartbeat picking up double-time in his ears till it seemed to be all he could hear. With a great effort, he forced his focus away from Helen to concentrate all his attention on the gun pointed at the base of her skull.

"Why. Won't. You. Die?" The maid's voice, ripe with disbelieving laughter, punctuated every word into singular questions. The sound rang out clear in the relative silence, the only audible sound besides Helen's heart and the cicada's chirping out the oncoming of night.

Without looking, Nikola slowly lowered the man in his grasp. Just enough so he could put some of his weight on his toes at the very edge of the rooftop, but not letting him go completely. He weighed too much for Nikola's weakened arm and he didn't need the man to suffocate just yet. His eyes never left the armed maid's.

"It was you all along." Helen breathed, tilting an eyebrow and slowly lifting her hands to the sides non-threateningly. Her right arm only raised a couple of inches before she winced and stopped. Her voice took on a pain-filled edge. "You set that bomb on the stairs. Then when we survived, you faked your passivity to bring down our guard. Why would we possibly suspect someone so traumatized, especially if there was another logical explanation? You never expected us to survive again _and_ succeed in capturing your partner."

The woman's voice turned furious. "I just can't believe how damn frustrating you two are turning out to be. I mean, _really_, how many times do I have to kill you?"

"Apparently a lot more than you have." He growled back, smiling.

Cornelia shook her head, her voice at once filled with burning anger and a grudging respect. "It's amazing, I'll give you that."

"Always with that tone of surprise." He griped, his own disbelief obvious. "Why does no one understand how out of their depth they are when faced with us, my dear Helen?"

"Can't say, Nikola." Helen answered dryly, her eyes saying she thought this was hardly the time.

"You used the opportunity to listen in on all our plans." He glared back at Cornelia. It wasn't a question exactly, but she still answered.

"I'm not deaf or stupid." The young woman's eyes glittered dangerously.

"Of course not." Helen replied calmly. She was still looking at Nikola as she spoke and he could see her eyes flicker. "You had us both fooled. Mostly me but, then again, you anticipated that. You knew that if you played the defenseless human, I would protect you whether I fully trusted you or not and Nikola would follow my lead. The only reason you would know that, however, is because you knew who I was the second I stepped through his front door. Which means that someone gave you that information before I arrived. Someone who knew I was headed here." Now it was Helen's eyes that Nikola could see glittering. She was angry again, which was good; at least for them. When she got angry, everyone ducked, no matter who they were. The woman was a force to be reckoned with and no mistake. "You're working with the ones that shot me."

"So clever." The maid cooed mockingly.

"It wasn't someone after the Razor Sills at all, was it? It wasn't even an attempt to keep me away from Nikola. The only reason to shoot me, but not finish the job, _and_ steal my vehicle was to make sure that I would have no choice but to come to Nikola for help. And just like you anticipated my altruistic tendencies, you also predicted Nikola would drop everything he was working on to save my life."

"The two of you do have a disturbing penchant for coming to each others aid, no matter what has happened between you. The vampire tried to kill you, after all, and you still came when he sent out his SOS for help. Likewise, you mess up his plans and he still saves you. I just chose to take advantage of the situation."

"You wanted me to distract him." Helen spat disbelievingly, turning her head to slightly glance over her shoulder with one eye. "Why?"

The woman didn't answer.

She did it for her. "You're not working with the private army at all, are you? You're working against them for some reason. You _knew_ Nikola was getting closer to finishing whatever he was working on and that only _I_ would be enough to distract him from his work."

He smirked at Helen. "Someone thinks a lot of herself." Not that he was denying anything.

Just the edge of Helen's lips quirked upward. "That's it, isn't it?"

"It worked well, don't you think?" Cornelia purred, tapping the gun into her head. "You came here, bleeding and vulnerable. It was perfect. I only failed to take into account your fast recovery. Who knew Nikola Tesla would be such a good nurse? I was sure that you would eventually succumb after you had served your purpose. If the bullet didn't kill you, the poison would. Then you got better and the two of you started working together...I admit, I'm impressed, old lady. I never thought the both of you would prove so hard to get rid of. Even when the bomb didn't work, I'd thought Lyde could take care of you while I listened in as the helpless innocent bystander, but that was obviously overestimating the moron."

Nikola shot a glare at the man hanging from his fist. Lyde stared back angrily, eyes a little wider than normal because of his precarious position and constricted airway but otherwise undeterred.

"I should have just taken care of you myself, Doctor, while you were recovering." Cornelia continued. "I'm sure your death would have proven to be just as distracting as your continued presence."

"Don't count on it." Helen grumbled, shooting Nikola a half-smile. "I've been told I'm rather unpredictable company." Her eyes shifted to the side again.

Using his periphery vision only, Nikola spotted what looked like a large gun sitting not far from her right foot. Beside it, he could see a harpoon like the one that had passed through his chest. His heart quickened. Meeting Helen's determined gaze, he tried to tell her no with his eyes. What was she thinking? There was no way she was strong enough right now to fight her way out of this.

"It's not too late to put a stop to this. Just put the gun down." Helen tried soothingly, drawing back his attention to their neglected conversation. "You stopped Nikola's project, whatever it was. Put the gun down now and Nikola and I will take you both with us. The army won't get to you and afterward, we'll simply go our separate ways."

"You think I'm a fool, Dr. Magnus? The only thing that is keeping me alive right now is the fact that I'm holding this gun to your head and he's not sure if he'd be able to survive the bullet right now." She nodded her chin in his direction before looking back at Helen's head. "_You_ most certainly _won't_."

Nikola gulped. He knew Helen wouldn't survive a shot like that no matter how tough she was and he wasn't too proud to admit that the barrel of the gun pressed so tightly to the back of her head was making him nervous.

Suddenly, from below, a bright light turned their way. Nikola glanced briefly to the side as more joined it. The soldiers had noticed them on the roof, the annoying little pests. The sound of their yells filled the air with a raging cacophony of sound.

In that moment, Helen choose to move. She twisted in a circle, one foot catching the edge of the harpoon and the other kicking the shaft into the Cornelia's legs. At the same time, she used her left arm to shove the gun to the side, and wind around the maid's arms, locking the woman's hands snugly against her side. The weapon went off and the projectile just barely missed the lot of them while both women were forced sideways by Helen's momentum.

Not needing to think about it, Nikola instantly dropped his hold on Lyde's throat and took a step toward them. He knew Helen couldn't use her right arm at all right now and so had nothing more to strike out with and they were staggering closer to the old, iffy-looking railing to his left. The man yelled, but Nikola didn't look around to see if he'd found some way to hold on until he felt something grab at him and slam him against the railing. Apparently that something was him. The metal railing creaked ominously at the sudden impact but he refused to look away from Helen.

Cornelia had kicked out, colliding with the side of Helen's good knee, forcing her to the ground. Then the woman turned into Helen's bad side, prying her fingers loose.

It only took one blow to quickly dislodge the man's fingers from him, but the brief second Nikola took to look away, the maid misjudged the needed force against her weaker opponent. He was already sprinting for them as fast as he could when they slammed into the rail and with a screeching groan, the old rusted metal gave way to their momentum.

His heart nearly stopped altogether. Helen's surprised face as she fell backward off the roof was all he could see and for a moment, it seemed as though the world slowed for a few moments before speeding up into fast forward. Sliding to his knees and then skidding to the edge on his chest, Nikola shot his hand forward faster than he had ever moved before and caught Helen by just the edge of her fingertips. The maid tried to clutch at something too but only succeeded in getting the edge of Helen's shirt. There was a sharp but short tug and then a ripping sound as the already abused fabric tore. A screech rent the air as the woman fell until the sickeningly quiet thud of her impact cut the noise short.

Nikola was too focused on Helen to look, but he really didn't want to anyway. He knew what was on this side of the house and what jagged rocks could do to a body falling as fast as she was. So instead, he grit his teeth to pull himself to his knees and hauled Helen up with a strained growl. Once he had her over the edge, he tugged her into the curve of his body protectively, breathing hard. His arms clutched her to him and he honestly didn't care for once if anyone realized he had been afraid. She could tease him or thank him all she wanted, all he cared about was that she was alive to do it.

Breathing out frightened gusts of air, Helen simply held him back, her grip seemingly just as hard as his.

A strange sizzling noise finally drew them apart and as Nikola looked into the night sky, he saw tiny flashes of bright colored lights filtering down to the ground. It reminded him of the popping foam in an ocean's surf washed up on land. Sliding closer to the edge while still holding Helen by the arms, he looked over and down. Far below, a soldier took a tentative step forward. Nikola's wide eyes turned to meet Helen's. "I think we just ran out of time."

-((-))-


	18. Reacting

Author's Note: I originally intended this to be a Nikola POV chapter. I tried and tried to write it that way, but it just wouldn't work. When I switched to Helen's POV, I finally made some progress but its been like pulling teeth. I gotta say... I have never been so frustrated. Nor have my own ideas ever been so uncooperative. I've read of people referring to their "muse". Well, if I have one, it has been in the form of an obstinate two-year-old for the better part of a week. So, sorry if this catches in places. And it was longer than normal, so I broke it up into separate chapters.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Reacting

Helen's POV-

Fear. It pounded in her veins, hammering through her chest in grotesque mimicry of her heart. Helen could feel threading into her staggered breaths, in the trembling of her limbs. She heard it in the loud thumping beat filling her ears like a thousand drumbeats kept in perfect unison. It clung to her, choked her, and consumed her. Bit by agonizing bit, it seemed to be _replacing_ her, so that in the end there would be nothing left of her but this fear.

Only the ghostly echo of Nikola's grasp lingering on the fingers of her left hand provided an anchor to hold to. A way out of the memories of falling backward into oblivion, the world itself tilting out from under her, and of Cornelia's dying scream shattering down to her bones. It was because of it that she slowly started to come back to herself, as though awakening from a dream or a nightmare. Arms were around her, holding her tightly. Nikola's arms. She almost sobbed, burying it only by burying her face in his chest and holding on for dear life. Remarkably, she _was_ alive. Alive and safe.

The next sensation to filter through was sight. Her eyelids turned translucent and she looked out and up to find the source. Lights were exploding in the darkening sky, brilliant colors traveling down in a shower of like sparks that had her wondering if she'd hit her head and was hallucinating.

But no, when she looked at Nikola he was pulling away, staring upward too. He shifted over and looked past the edge of the roof. Curious, she peeked with him and saw a soldier stepping slowly forward over the edge of the property line where before they had not been able to tread. Blinking several times did nothing to alter what she saw. The shield was gone? But how could it fail?

Nikola turned back to her and her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were always so much more expressive than he cared to admit and they showed his worry, whether he wanted them to or not. Worry and a hint of a fear so very similar to her own. For the second time in the space of an hour, he was scared and showing it. That didn't bode well.

He was trying to speak to her. She couldn't hear what he was saying over the din inside her head at first, only aware that his lips were moving. Her grip on his right forearm tightened as she tried to steady herself in him, with him, so that she could catch his words. Her right hand could only hold lightly, laying on the top of his left arm, blood seeping through the cloth on her wrist down onto his forearm. He was saying something about time. Time was an elusive thing, she had learned, flowing through her fingers like water when she tried to grasp hold. She was always running out of it and yet always facing so much more.

Her hearing returned in a rush. A gunshot rang out like a thunderclap, seeming to come from all around them at once, breaking the stillness into little jagged pieces. A bullet parted the air so close to her ear, she could feel the tentative disturbance flutter through her hair. It made a whistling zing as it passed that caused her eardrum to thrum brutally.

"Down!" Nikola pulled her with him even as he yelled, flattening them out from their knees to their stomachs faster than she could blink. He used an arm to cushion her transition, making a face before schooling his expression.

A new kind of fear rolled through her stomach, making her nauseous. Was his chest strong enough for this? How much healing had been undone by catching her, or pulling her up from her precarious predicament? Unconsciously, her hand slid under him to rest her fingertips against his healed chest. Reassured by his obvious heartbeat, she rested her cheek against his shoulder, still feeling in a daze. Every thought, every action was only made with great effort, like she was trying to move against restraints or through water.

She closed her eyes as a rush of rapid gunfire followed the first shot, the harsh blasts grating against her sensitive hearing. It certainly hadn't taken long for more soldiers to join the first. The edge of the Widow's Walk began to shred to pieces as more lead was pumped into it from below. She flinched hard into the back of Nikola's shoulder as splintered bits of wood started to cascade around them, catching on her exposed skin. Without even thinking, she yelled Nikola's name hoarsely. They couldn't stay laying here, they needed to-

"Move, Helen!" He'd already grabbed the arm under his chest and started shoving her forward urgently, away from the crumbling edge.

It was hard, awkward, and painful to crawl on her belly with only one arm, but Nikola kept pushing her relentlessly to keep moving every time she even looked like she was stopping. Finally far enough from the edge to be out of danger, she leaned against the door housing and at last stopped to breathe, lungs straining harshly as pain radiated through her. The damn woman had twisted her cut wrist and slammed into her shoulder, so now the injuries were threatening to make her whole arm useless. She could feel nothing from it but pain. Still, her mind was racing too fast to be ignored, so she started puffing out her questions with her breath. "That light... in the sky? That was... _our_ shield failing?"

From his place beside her, he shook his head, breath almost as ragged as hers. His chest must be protesting against such abuse. "Theirs." He answered in a shout to be heard over the gunfire still sporadically rattling the air.

"I... I don't understand." She said back, shaking her head.

Eyes closed, he reached up to rub his forehead before meeting her eyes. "Their shield works... with a series of microchips, all hidden in their uniforms, vehicles- what have you. It pings from source to source, expanding and collapsing at need to encompass the lot. Our shield is a stationary one and only keeps out projectiles and energy fields. It was only their shield _reacting_ to ours that was keeping them from coming in."

"Each soldier kept out because of the chip in his or her uniform." She summarized breathlessly. "That's brilliant, Nikola."

He smirked at her, though his tiredness somewhat dulled the full effect. "Of course it is, this is _me_ we're talking about here." The worry bled out of his form as he started preening slightly and she felt a wave of relief wash over her, so intense it made her light-headed.

"So, if the shield you sold them is so amazing, why are they shooting at us?"

He grimaced in distaste. "They're thugs. I wasn't going to give them my best work. The thing will fail eventually and I... may have led them to believe that the major power supply issues had been worked out."

She would have laughed, but her head wasn't in the mood, so she settled for smiling at him. "Of course you did."

Abruptly, the gunfire stopped altogether, leaving only an aching silence in it's wake.

-((-))-


	19. Shaking

Author's Note: As you wish...

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Shaking

Helen's POV-

The air seemed to freeze, no sound, no stir penetrating the stillness. The sudden absence of gunfire left a hollow tint to their surroundings that set them both on edge, at least she assumed based on the way Nikola was tensed beside her. Helen's eyes scanned the edge of the Walk where only dark sky and empty landscape could be seen from their vantage point. Fear had returned to her heart at the ominous feeling leaching into the air. As she panned across she spotted something to her left that made her do a small double-take. She sat up slightly in surprise. It was the very thing that Cornelia had been leaning over; an open bag and a coil of rope laying not far from the railing. Peaking through the top of the bag's open flap was the edge of the small shield device Nikola had created for them, the very one she had helped him finish. Cornelia and Lyde must have stolen it from the lab on the second floor.

"Come on, Helen, not much further now. We need to keep moving." Nikola accompanied this statement by sliding up onto his knees, turning to the right toward the door off the roof.

"Nikola." To stop him she grabbed his shirt, making him look back at her in concern. "The shield..." She nodded her head toward the thing.

Face creasing into a frown, Nikola followed her line of sight, eyes going wide at what he saw. She saw him start forward, stop, then she heard him swear under his breath. Instead of going to retrieve the device, he looked back at her and carefully lifted himself into a low crouch. "I'll help you, Helen."

"But-" She made as if to go after it herself.

His hand caught her good arm. "Leave it." He whispered fiercely. "It's too close to the edge. We need to get you inside." He pulled lightly to get her to follow him and started for the door again.

Frowning in confusion, she folded up onto her knees and feigned doing as he said, trying to gain time to clear her head. He was moving jerkily, shoulder-blades tense. What she could still see of his face was purposefully blank, telling her far more than most expressions would. He was scared again; scared for her. Of course. She swore internally. It always came down to her being his weakness. Of falling short, of _her_ causing him more harm than anyone else could hope to accomplish. Always.

But- damn it, they needed that shield. If she knew him at all, he would try to go back for it once she was safe. Which was irrational. There was no way she could get out of here without him, but his judgment was obviously compromised because of her. And if he thought she was going to let him get shot again, he was sorely mistaken. If he wouldn't risk her life, she'd do it herself. Refusing to think too hard about what she was doing, she slipped further behind him as though her arm was slowing her and swiftly turned to edge her way back toward the device. Her leg and arm were on fire, but she needed to move as quickly as possible, so she did her best to ignore them. She had already gone several feet before Nikola even noticed she wasn't with him any longer. By then, it was too late to stop her.

"Damn it, Helen, I said leave it!" His voice was harsh, desperate sounding.

As she drew closer to the edge, more weapon's fire greeted her. Apparently soldiers had already circled this side of the house in their bid to surround the building. She flinched back from a close shot, then darted forward again to grab the strap of the bag, retracting just in time to avoid another few bullets aimed at her head. The thing weighed a damn _ton_. Now that she had it, she found it incredibly hard to move while trying to pull it along. She only made it a foot or so. Desperate to get further back, she automatically tried to use her right arm too and whimpered as pain slammed from her shoulder into her neck and set the whole side of her head afire.

Suddenly Nikola's hands had a hold under her shoulders, dragging her further back from the edge where it was safer. Struggling to help so he wouldn't hurt himself, Helen didn't protest when he wrapped his other arm round her middle to tug her the final distance till their backs were against the door-housing again. Ignoring the resumed barrage of bullets filling the air and without another word, he took the shield device from her grasp and started hustling her toward the door.

After a short swallow to shove down her apprehension, she obeyed without protest. She could practically feel the anger rolling off him. Her breath didn't return till she slipped past the threshold and into the dark stairwell. She coughed the block of panic from her throat and groaned out loud. God, her leg hurt. The butterfly bandages had come loose and the tear in her flesh had grown longer, on meeting with the metal railing. Her shoulder as also sending through its protest. She could feel the stab of hot pain as she carefully slid down the stairs to the second level with it tucked snugly to her middle out of the way, where it's throbbing finally reduced to a strong ache she could breathe with.

Coming in behind, Nikola climbed down the stairs after her, still silent.

Once they were both at the bottom where it was safe, Helen only had time to take one steadying breath before he was suddenly grabbing her upper arms in a bruising grip and shaking her, hard. She clenched her teeth in an effort to bury the cry springing toward her lips as pain from her shoulder eclipsed anything stretching up from her leg. When Nikola stopped, she was dizzy from holding it down, along with her breath.

"Have you lost your mind?" His blazing eyes pierced into hers, his angry breath gusting over her face and bringing with it the faint smell of her own blood mixed with his.

Her mouth worked slightly, speechlessly, for a second but it was a second too long for him.

He growled low in fury. "First, you fight that psychotic, gun-wielding lunatic even though half your body isn't functioning. Now you try and pull a stunt like this?" He jerked her again for emphasis, causing her head to snap forward and leaving her breathless once more. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"We need this!" Her voice sounded desperate to her own ears. Maybe she was. She accompanied her words with a weak gesture at the device hanging from his shoulder.

"This _thing_ does us no good if you're dead!" He shouted, gripping her arms even harder.

She couldn't stop the yelp that escaped her lips this time.

Instantly realizing what he was doing to her, he released her, but he still didn't back down. Glaring fiercely at into her eyes, his tone grew dangerously quiet. "Are you _insane_? Or are you just _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

Her temper flared at that. She didn't like feeling weak, or being bullied and right now, it felt like Nikola was doing just that. "We need the shield! It's our only chance of getting out of here alive and no amount of yelling at me will change that!"

He held her heated gaze for a moment, then scoffed, jerking away from her. His long, thin legs took him into an agitated pacing in front of her. His fists came up to rest on his hips as he moved steadily: back and forth like a pendulum.

Almost against her will, Helen felt her body responding, softening toward him as understanding rolled through her. He was angry. Angry at her for putting herself in danger. Angry because he had been afraid and hadn't even bothered to hide it. She supposed she could understand that. Even accept it, in a way, but they did not have the time for this. Arguing was the last thing they needed to be doing right now. She watched him quietly for a moment, hoping the worst of his fury was now spent. As thrilling as getting away with teasing him was- getting that perfect combination reaction of anger, humor, exasperation, and affection- this was a completely different kind of anger she was now facing. "It was a calculated risk."

He stopped, freezing in place facing the wall at her words, expression still set in a fierce frown.

Realizing her mistake too late to stop the words, she unconsciously braced herself.

With a shake of his head, he turned round and pointed an accusatory finger at her, eyes darkened to inhuman black. "It was a _stupid_, reckless move and you know it. What in the world were you thinking, Helen? You had no chance against her, not in your condition."

"I don't appreciate people holding guns to my head." She replied tartly. "What was I supposed to do, wait until she decided shooting me was the easiest option available to her?"

"Or wait till I could do something about it that wouldn't have gotten you killed?"

Her brow creased. "I'm not dead, Nikola." She huffed out a humorless breath. "And I don't need rescuing."

"N-o," He drawled, rolling his head mockingly. "-the great _Helen Magnus_ never _needs_ anything."

"Oh, stop it." She snapped, drawing closer to him to more fully meet his eyes. "Don't make this out to be some misguided attempt at martyrdom. I'm not a damsel in distress who's just going to wait around to be saved, but I wasn't trying to get myself killed. I was just trying to get the gun immobilized so she couldn't shoot you, I couldn't have known she'd practically shove us off the roof attempting to get free."

"Exactly, you _didn't_ know. You didn't listen to me and you didn't think!" His voice returned to an even louder volume than before, his teeth sharpening.

"Stop. Yelling. At. Me." Helen growled back at him, voice dangerous and forceful.

He bared his front teeth at her, but did moderate his tone. "Do you have any idea how close those bullets came to lodging in your cranium when you went for this stupid thing?" He shook the bag in her direction. "How easily they could have killed you?"

"I'm well aware, thank you." She ground out without looking at the thing.

"Then tell me why!" He yelled, dropping the device as his voice deepened dramatically, moving so close their noses almost touched.

Trying not to shake, she stood her ground. "We needed the-"

He grabbed her arms again and didn't let go despite her gasp and grimace of pain.

She stared down at the claws that had grown from his fingers, sharp and deadly.

"I'm asking _why_?" He shook her again. "_Why_ do you do things this stupid, this reckless, this suicidal?"

When she tried to pull back, his hands moved up to capture her face, forcing her to look him in the eye again and holding her in place.

"Why can't you just _trust_ me?" His voice sounded tortured.

She could only look back at him in shock. "I- I _do_ trust you." Her own voice was shaking even more than her body was.

His face didn't even flicker at her words. It was hard and unyielding, far stronger and more unforgiving than stone, as though he was still waiting for an answer.

Wriggling, she tried to extricate her face from his grasp, but it was like steel molded to her chin. Looking back at his eyes, she found them too intense to look at, so she switched to staring his collar. Since she was trapped, hurt, and on the verge of tears, she found words suddenly starting to spill from her mouth, leaving her powerless to call them back. "I do. I do trust you, Nikola, but I can't just do _nothing_. I had to act. Just because I may seem reckless on occasion doesn't mean... I just-" Damn it. Why couldn't she breathe? Her eyes were shrouding with tears and she knew very well it had nothing to do with her physical pain. "I was _scared, _all right? Scared out of my mind and when I get scared, I _fight back_."

He blinked, eyes clearing slightly in surprise.

"I was scared because... I had _already_ almost lost you. Because I have almost cost you your life so many times now. It was _my_ fault and one more-" She choked on her words, forcing more past her lips only by pure willpower. "-one more bullet could have taken you." She swallowed back a sob, biting her treacherously shaking bottom lip for a second to squash the impulse. In immediate defense, she hardened herself, making her next words come out far more bitter than she intended. "So I fought back. I fought back with everything that I _had_ because I couldn't _bear_ to lose you." She shook her head to dispel the images of him bleeding out on the floor from her mind, voice quieting to a faint whisper. "And sometimes I'm afraid that- that if I stop fighting... I'll get used to giving up. And then I'll have _nothing_ left."

An echoing silence descended then, filling the hallway with nothing but the muffled sounds coming from outside.

After a few tense moments of searching her face for... something, he seemed to sag, and finally released her.

She wavered on her weak limbs, too exhausted and sore to stay upright on her own strength. One hand caught the wall as she started to tilt.

Nikola immediately grabbed her again, but gently this time, lowering her softly to sit on the floor with her back propped against the wall. His hand, now devoid of claws, fluttered down to hover over the wound on her right thigh, which was still bleeding gently down her leg. Without hesitation he took off his tattered shirt and tore what remained of it into long strips. With it, he then bandaged her leg up, slipped the soaked bandage from her wrist, and rebound that too.

Helen watched him work, shaking slightly from her outburst. She suspected she might be going into shock as well. Seeing how gentle he was being with her, but also the way he purposefully wasn't meeting her eyes, she spoke up hesitantly. "I _am_ sorry, Nikola."

He sighed and finally looked up at her, eyes wavering but very clearly his own. "I just... and you always..."

"I know." She said softly, examining his expression. It was so unusual for her to see Nikola speechless that it left her feeling a little off kilter. She was leaning forward before she realized what she was doing and then... she kissed him. It was gentle, just a meeting of slightly chapped lips. She could taste the dried blood on the corner of his mouth. It was also quick; over before either one of them could respond in any way except to gasp. Pulling away again to meet his eyes, she gave him a weak smile. "Thank you for saving me. Again."

-((-))-


	20. Soaring

Author's Note: Well my lovely readers and reviewers, here is you're next chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Soaring

Nikola was completely breathless. He was still kneeling on the floor, staring into Helen's soft features, utterly unable to _breathe_ after the shock of having her lips press gently but firmly to his. _She_ had kissed_ him_ this time too, he hadn't stolen it in a rare moment of opportunity, nor demanded in payment for his actions. She had given it, willingly, freely. He'd barely been able to taste her before she'd moved away again, but even that hint was enough to spark his memory and imagination nonetheless. While his mind worked in overdrive, the rest of his body stalled, and for a moment things seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Helen was giving him the softest, shyest smile he had ever seen on her, further stealing his breath from his lungs. She spoke so quietly, he had to strain to catch her words. She was thanking him. At that, a part of him finally stirred from it's hazed stupor to protest faintly. He tried to shove it down, silence it, but it wouldn't stop, giving him the powerful need to shift uncomfortably. He really didn't like it when people thanked him. Especially when it was a sincere pause in their doings to say it. He wasn't the sort of person people usually thanked and he liked it that way. It kept expectations of his moral fibre to a minimum. That way, they couldn't be disappointed. _She_ wouldn't be disappointed. So despite his attempt to quell it, that part of him rose to deflect. He smirked at her, trying desperately to morph his tone into a flippant one. "You need to start thanking me more often."

Her eyes- those beautiful deep blue eyes- shifted into something... different. Sad, maybe, or perhaps wary. Where only a moment before she had been smiling at him gently, slightly embarrassed and breathless herself, she was now suddenly trying to look away at anything that presented itself to her gaze. Her voice sounded different too, as she spoke, more strangled and toneless. "Do things for me to thank you for more often and I might."

His heart gave a feeble stir in protest and he was suddenly reminded that he had been in pain before, acknowledging and apparently reigniting it deep inside his chest. His whole ribcage felt sore, overworked, and it was no wonder. First, there had been the spike of fear at seeing her toppling off the roof. If he had been even a second later, his grasp would have missed her and she would've died. As it was, simply watching her fall for that split second had surely done what 100 years hadn't been able to accomplish and aged him by several decades. Hauling her up had brought out a sore ache in the healing muscle, one he had gladly ignored in favor of holding her in his arms, and when he later realized she was no longer behind him, his heart had spiked again in sheer panic. He just knew there was no way his heartbeat had ever been so rapid or painful. Pulling her back from the edge had slanted the ache into more of a jagged pain but he had ignored it again in favor of holding to his anger. Sliding into his other form hadn't exactly helped the matter either, and he knew only Helen's quiet admission could have brought him back from that enticing edge, though he should have realized she had been almost as frightened for him as he had been for her. He cursed that she was so good at hiding it, until that dreadful moment that it burst forth in the form of some desperate act of self-sacrifice. Maybe she didn't do it on purpose and therefore couldn't control it, her subconscious taking over and doing anything and everything it could to protect her from more emotional pain that she might not survive. But that didn't mean the impulse didn't still royally tick him off. Helen's physical condition was what drove the last of the transformation from him. The sight of her toppling from her feet had renewed the worry coursing through his chest, so that he barely remembered why he had been yelling at her or why he had been stupid enough to cause her more pain. And yet all of it, every last bit, had been eclipsed the second he fully realized why she was leaning towards him. Her soft lips pressing gently to his had sent his pulse into a whole new stratosphere but he had been too focused on her to feel it.

Now though, there was no ignoring his chest this time, aching as it tried to contain his pounding heart. It ached mostly for Helen's tone, for her drawing back, shutting his away again. And there was no way he could blame the shift on her._ He_ had been the one to open his stupid mouth and say something flippant at a time like this.

When he didn't say anything else back, didn't manage to continue the familiar banter that would shrug away this incident into something to be unspoken and relatively forgotten, a blush rose onto Helen's cheeks, turning her curving cheekbones and gracefully pale neck a delicate rouge.

Completely entranced, Nikola forgot his chest again immediately. He opened his mouth to speak, hoping against all odds that he would say something witty and humorous that would make her laugh and maybe even earn him another kiss, when the floor beneath his knees trembled. A sound like that of a mudslide or avalanche sounded for a moment before cutting off abruptly. Sitting back, he automatically reached out and grabbed the strap of the bag holding the personal shield device, slinging it over his head just in case they needed it at a moment's notice. He looked up and down the hall as muffled shouting replaced the rumbling in filling the air.

Helen's good hand instinctively went to the gun somehow still strapped to her right thigh.

"What the _hell_ was that?" He asked her quietly in astonishment.

Her eyebrows creased for a moment, then rose in understanding. "The front door trap I set."

He blinked at her for a second, then broke out in a feral smile. "That's my girl."

"I had better be after all this." She griped while also grinning at him. "Despite what I said, I still blame you for dragging me into this horrible mess. Especially as my getting shot had nothing to do with what _I _was here for."

-and she was back to teasing him. He could tell by that faint glimmer in her eyes. He sighed. Well, two could play at that. "How else are you supposed to get your daredevil thrills?"

"You honestly think I need help?" She arched an eyebrow at him, laughing lightly in incredulity. "With what happens _daily_ in my life?"

"There are some things only a vampire can do for you, my dear." He said, tone purposefully lecherous this time.

Her mouth opened soundlessly, her nose wrinkling in distaste. Her cheeks reddened further to a bright color a strawberry might be envious of, given the opportunity. Though clearly aghast at his innuendo, Nikola did notice her lips pulling up slightly at the edges.

He almost laughed out loud at that, but managed to keep his face and voice only gently teasing as he continued. "Now now, Helen, get your mind out of the gutter. We hardly have the time right now."

She spluttered. "Y-you..." An angry huff left her chest. "You are more of a... _cad_ then ever!"

"That's why I was always your favorite." He smiled wide, stood, and reached a hand down to her.

Scowl in place, she took the proffered help and got shakily up to her feet.

There was another blast that rocked the floor beneath their heels, followed by the unusual sound of screeching metal.

"Okay, definitely time to vamos." He said nervously. "How's the leg?"

"How's the chest?" She asked back, grimacing when she tried to use said limb.

He stuck out his bottom lip a little. "It stings. Kiss it better?"

She laughed, leaning against his arm heavily and eying his bare chest. "Nikola, can you never be serious?"

He pouted at her. "I was being serious."

"Uh, liar." She wheezed out as they began to hurry down the hallway. "You're being as stubborn as you were that night in '37 when you were hit by that taxicab, flew almost forty feet and almost blew you're cover by walking away from it."

"Hey, I was forced into hermitage in my hotel room for months just to cover that up. I think I've been punished enough, thank you."

As they approached the opening that was what remained of the staircase, they slowed. He edged closer to the corner and looked down into the entrance hall. One or two men had already gotten past the collapsed front door, so he quietly moved Helen to the far wall and together they moved as quietly as past the area.

"Where are we going?" She puffed near his ear, leaning more and more heavily into him as they went.

He looked straight ahead without answering, where a large window was reflecting their images back at them.

Helen said nothing for a beat and then her voice came out, British timbre more pronounced than ever, sounding tired and resigned. "You have got to be kidding me."

Still not answering as he concentrated, he sped up, but he didn't really _need_ to explain at this point anyway. Based on her tone, she knew exactly what he was planning to do. With a critical eye, he examined the way Helen was limping along as fast as she could and the increasing sounds coming from the first floor. She wasn't moving fast enough. Ignoring the stretch and dull pain from his recently healed muscles and organs, he tucked an arm behind her knees and lifted her into his hold without pausing his forward momentum. Now practically sprinting, he headed straight for the window.

In his arms Helen took out her gun, sighted down the barrel, and shot two bullets through the glass, then quickly curled into his chest, her face against his heartbeat.

Tightening his hold, Nikola's vision grew almost painfully sharp as his eyes blackened, teeth sharpened and claws grew. Energy flooded through his system and with one powerful move, he surged into the air and through the glass, shattering it, his feet just high enough to clear the window sill.

-((-))-


	21. Running

Author's Note: What lovely reviews! You guys rock. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Running

For a long moment, they were weightless, airborne in a dark sky with glimmering glass shards surrounding them in their flight. Then he slowly fell, feet landing heavily on the dry soil, Helen's weight pulling on his arms. The tinkling of falling glass eventually stopped, and they found themselves surrounded by the sounds of night.

Pulling Helen closer to his chest, Nikola looked around furtively. It seemed he _had_ timed it right and luck was heavily in their favor. Those who had been surrounding the building were even now spilling within, looking ardently for them in the wrong place. The crash hadn't been loud and he doubted anyone had heard it, especially based off the noise level now coming from inside. There did appear to be a few soldiers left behind to guard the perimeter, but they couldn't differentiate between sounds. They had no reason to assume what little they could hear wasn't merely a result of the actions of their own people. He pressed back against the shadow of the building so that when the two near the corner panned toward them, he and Helen couldn't be seen. He held his breath and didn't release it till they looked away again.

In his arms, Helen slid her left hand down under his arm and reached around his middle to the bag hanging from his shoulder. "Ready?" Her voice was strained and it tickled as she mumbled the word into his bare chest so that she couldn't be overheard.

"Now." Nikola grunted quietly, and remotely switched the house shield off. There was a brief spark of light as the thing failed, drawing the guards attention upward. He felt like a heavy weight was being lifted from his shoulders. At almost the same time, Helen flipped on the personal shield device. Another flash sparked around them, giving them both the tingling sensation of being surrounded by a static field. He breathed in through his nose and out his mouth to steady himself. Taking a careful, firmer hold on Helen, he sprinted from the cover of the shadows.

The guards at the corner spotted them belatedly, raised their weapons and recoiled as their own weapon's fire rebounded off the shield toward them. He ran the distance to the nearest brush quickly and disappeared behind it before they could call out for reinforcements. The vegetation was thick, but sparse it most areas, so he ran from thicket to thicket for some time, dodging among the clumps to throw off pursuit. Though he was confident in his abilities as a vampire to outrun any normal human and most abnormals, even given his and Helen's ragged states, he still kept moving even after the sounds of pursuit faded behind them just to be sure. He couldn't risk Helen. Even though his chest was afire as he moved, he didn't dare pause to put her down. She would no doubt be slower and suffer greater than he was right now if he did anyway. So for a long while, he concentrated on nothing more or less that continuing to run as fast as he could. Finally, sure their hunters wouldn't find them at least long enough for him do what he needed to, he paused to rest. A small, rolling hill stood between them and the enemies they had just escaped, so he had no line of sight by which to gauge their progress. However, their pursuers wouldn't see them either. He stood still, breathing and listening intently as the rush of his altered form slowly leaked away. Eyes that had been dark black cleared, his claws retreated. Just before his senses collapsed in on themselves back to normal, he made out noises that might have been weapons fire at the house on the very edge of his hearing.

"Nikola." Helen suddenly breathed into his skin, voice shaking. "Please... put me down. My leg-"

Distracted, he looked down at her bad leg pressed tightly to his abdomen, and obviously causing her intense pain. Immediately, he did as she asked, carefully lowering her to the ground. As he shifted his arms from beneath her, he smiled down at her. "Now- we just have to turn on the house shield, it'll fall to the amber grid and we're home free." He tried to make it sound cheerful and hoped she found his words more encouraging than he did.

"Explain to me again how that is supposed to help us?" She groaned, leaning her back against the hill, eyes tightly closed

Giving her a look she didn't see, he crouched beside her and whispered fiercely. "We're in a hurry and you want me to play professor again?"

"I just need an slightly clearer idea," She hissed, peeking out at him. "-not technical specifications in triplicate."

"If you'd listened before-"

"If you think I'm going to-"

Impatient, he waved his hands for her to be quiet and was surprised when she obliged. He blinked. "Really? Just like that?"

"Nikola." She answered warningly.

"Yes, time crunch- When activated, the current in the house's shield will react with that of the Gestapo's, effecting every last microchip, as I said before."

"Which was why they couldn't pass through our shield."

He nodded quickly. "This will be the same, only having the opposite effect. The microchips that their shield uses will ensure that they and everything with them - i.e.- cars, personnel, et cetera – will be drawn _into_ the house. They will be unable to pass outside of the house's shield while theirs is active. Trying to fight against it would be like a penguin fighting gravity."

"Fruitless." She managed to get out straight-faced.

He was impressed. "Exactly. They are momentarily trapped and disoriented giving us-" He gestured between them vehemently and raised an eyebrow.

"Time to slip away." She provided, clearly exasperated with him.

"Not much mind you, as soon as they figure it out they'll find a way to turn their shield off, but enough."

"How do we even know that they raised their shield again?" She asked. "Or that they haven't put it together already and switched off the chips in their uniforms?"

"You put in enough traps to have convinced them that it's necessary, I'm sure. And _I_ think you overestimate their intelligence."

"I think you _under_estimate it, per usual."

"Really, Helen, you can be such a cynic sometimes." He chided gently.

"And whose fault is that?" She griped under her breath, moaning softly as she sat up.

"Shh." He said sharply, repressing a grin. "I need quiet to concentrate."

She poked him irritably in retaliation for teasing her, but went silent as he requested.

He pulled out the remote, twisted the dial on its side and fiddled with the frequency. "Now, I need to be on the outside of our little shield for this to work, so stay here with this." He handed her the bag with the personal shield device inside and offered her a wide smile. "And I'll be right back." Standing, he moved off to the side. He didn't have to go far, the range of their little shield wasn't vast and didn't want to risk being spotted by the soldiers looking for them. Flourishing the remote to get an exasperated smile past Helen's exhaustion, he pressed the button.

There was an empty pause.

Helen leaned forward to whisper loudly in his direction. "How do we know if it worked?"

A concussive blast of force and sound suddenly bent the short trees and scrub brush around him horizontal. As it passed, a roar like that of a newly caged lion filled the air, along with a heat that sizzled with the intensity of a blazing furnace. Nikola felt himself lift off the ground and fly several feet from where he'd been standing before reacquainting himself roughly with the terra. The force of his landing knocked the air from his lungs and made his eyes swim, but he could clearly hear Helen cry out as the ground itself rolled from the explosion. Debris blasted past them, some even ricocheting off their shield and taking out more vegetation as it went down. He barely managed to regain his senses in time to dodge a flaming piece of something that fell from the sky and embedded itself into the ground where he had been. Scuttling backward, he quickly put himself under the protection of the shield again, but to no avail. Even as he passed under it, their personal shield fizzled and died. Now unhindered, a fine layer of misted dust finally drifted down around them.

Coughing, he looked over at Helen. She had shifted with the moving earth and now lay face down, her good arm folded protectively over her head. His worry faded somewhat to see that the shield and hill had protected her from the worst of it.

Jerkily, she stirred. "What the _bloody hell_ was that?" She coughed, raising her head and blinking things from her eyes.

"Trouble no doubt." Nikola answered. Chest aching, he twisted up onto his knees.

Though he was ready to help her up too, Helen managed to get up onto her good hand and knees on her own. Face distorted into a strong grimace, she shifted her weight onto her good knee and straightened up to sit back on her heel. He watched her eyes pan slowly around them, then return to the ground around her. "Well, the shield didn't last as long as you hoped." She grunted, nudging the offending bag before turning her head to look at him.

Really? "Extenuating circumstances." He whined. "I didn't really _design_ the thing to withstand an explosion like that. It wasn't made to last long anyway, it's not my fault."

She smiled slowly, eyes crinkling as a laugh escaped her chest.

He returned it. It was good to see her smile again but her mirth at his defensiveness slipped away far to quickly for his liking.

"Any ideas?" She asked, sobering. She gestured weakly around them at the ruined landscape.

"Something must have happened to the Amber Grid. A reaction I didn't anticipate." He staggered up onto his feet.

"You?" She peered up at him. "Not anticipating every _possible_ outcome? Nonsense." Even in the dark, he could see she had that glint in her eyes again. Her smile returned full force.

"There's no need to be so hostile." He frowned at her, though truth be told, he was grateful Helen had something else to take her mind off her pain. Leaning down, he helped her up, putting her left arm around his shoulders for support as he moved them forward up the slight slope of the hill.

"Why not?" She puffed out, fighting through her pain to get the words past clenched teeth. "_Someone_ has to tease you and I graciously volunteer after all the trouble you keep dragging me into. Like this whole mess, for example. I'll never get my Razor Sills now." She actually sounded hurt about that last part.

"I'm not always the _only_ one doing the dragging." He pouted defensively. "Besides, admit it, you love getting to see me."

"Oh, always." She said sarcastically, tone playful.

He smiled, still supporting her weight as they made slow progress. "You do and you know it. Even if I get you shot."

"Next time, I'm the _only_ one that gets to do _any_ shooting." She moaned, hobbling a little further.

"Yes, of course." He laughed, angling to lift her weight so she could step the last way up to the top of the slope. "I'll be sure to tell that to the next army that comes after us."

Mouth open to respond, Helen suddenly stopped as her eyes strayed past him. She stared with wide eyes.

He turned and felt his mouth fall slightly agape at the sight visible over the flattened brush and burning rubble. Where the house had been there lay only a large smoking crater and what remained of one wall still standing, looking as though a gentle breeze would topple it over the rest of the way.

"Dear god." He heard her breathe behind him.

He agreed with the sentiment.

-((-))-


	22. Echoing

Author's Note: Oh goodness, I finished this and just had to keep going right into the next one. Then I realized they were too long, so I had to do a little shifting around. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Echoing

The ground itself was ash, soft and slick like oil. Smoke still billowed softly into the sky, shading out the stars and moon so that there was nothing but shadows upon shadows remaining around them. Coughing spasmodically in an attempt to prevent the invasion of silt into his lungs, Nikola used his hands to control a slide a few feet down the small embankment that had been created by the blast. After a few minutes of argument at the crest of the small hill that had given them such a clear view of the damage done by the explosion, they had agreed to retrace their path back to the remains of the house. It had been Helen's insistence and she wouldn't take no for an answer. She was a doctor after all, she had pointed out, and it was in her nature to provide medical treatment to all, even her enemies. He hadn't realized he'd managed to get them so far away from the building. Their walk back had taken far longer than he had expected but he supposed it was a good thing. It had given the air time to clear at least a little bit.

As they had gotten closer to where they had started their mad dash for freedom, they found slight rolling folds in the landscape that hadn't been present before. Probably a result of the seismic-like tremors created by the explosion. It looked like a rumpled black satin sheet. They were just coming down off the last one, exhausted and covered in black soot. He straightened once he got to the bottom and turned round to be sure that Helen didn't fall as she tried to follow him. She had been doing well, but he didn't want to take any chances. Thankfully, she accepted his help the rest of the down without complaint. He did notice that her limp more pronounced than ever. The bandage on her leg was soaked slightly through the front with blood, the reddish brown stain flowering out like a dahlia. The one on her wrist at least seemed to have done its job. When she stumbled a little at the bottom, he caught her and steadied her for a moment before turning back around.

They had finally reached the edge of the property and for several long minutes they stood gazing in terrible awe over the desolation. Three-fourths of the house had been completely blasted into oblivion, making it clear that the debris that had pelted them was most of the other fourth. A giant crater radiated out so far beyond the property line to one side, Nikola wondered that they hadn't felt more of the blast than they had. Gauging by the directionality of the damage, it must have been focused toward the front door. It made the fact that there was anything left of one of the walls a bit more understandable.

He could almost _hear_ Helen's mind coming to the same conclusions at his side as her gaze swept over the dark remainder of the mansion. She shifted her head around, then limped jerkily around the rim of the crater over to the wall, peering through what was left of a doorway. Turning her body to face back toward him, her eyes remained on the ground, examining, studying. Lifting her left arm slowly, she pointed through the gap in the wall towards the center of the crater, sighting along her own limb and forefinger as though aiming her weapon at a target. "If that was where the front door was... then the blast cone lines up perfectly to the Amber Grid beneath the house." Her arm dropped to her side again.

Nudging a soot covered brick with one foot, Nikola watched as it toppled into the black hole, then he carefully surveyed the area again. The smoke was thinning even further, letting in more light from the moon to illuminate them. It glittered off the ash in Helen's hair, giving her a faint halo in the slant of light available. When her eyes lifted slightly to meet his, they too seemed to shine ethereally. "It makes no sense." He mumbled, trying to call his mind back to order. "Those soldiers wouldn't blow _themselves_ up. Not even if they thought we were still in the house."

"Which only leaves-"

"Cornelia." He growled.

"And Lyde." She added giving him what he thought was a sympathetic look, though it was hard to tell with most of her face in shadow.

Clenching and unclenching his fists reflexively, thinking hard to try and see the whole thing like a puzzle to distance himself, he frowned. This had all started with that his stupidity. He had known what type of people he was doing business with, but had thought if anyone could outsmart the brutes it was him. He'd underestimated their speed in finding him, but it wasn't as though he had given them any really dangerous technology. The damn shield had a fatal flaw for goodness sakes! How was he supposed to know their other enemies would fight back like this, when he had them so weakened? He himself hadn't been opposed to killing them, but... in exasperation with himself, he brought his mind to task, placing the back of one wrist on his hip and using his other hand to stroke his upper lip though his old mustache was no longer there and hadn't been for some time.

Several seconds ticked past in silence, Helen clearly content to let him think while she gathered more evidence about the explosion from their surroundings, using her superb observational skills on the burned and bent shrubbery and blackened, scorched earth.

He was grateful to her for knowing precisely when he needed a moment and allowed himself some momentary satisfaction that there was at least one person on this earth who knew him so well. As he returned his mind to try to sift through the data, he had to shake his head. An explosion in the Amber Grid. As far as they knew, Cornelia had never had the opportunity to get down there and he had seen no evidence of tampering after his careful double-check. "But what..." Head tilted to the side, realization slowly dawned on him.

As though she could sense something from him, Helen turned toward him. "What is it?"

"We left the device for switching the power source in the kitchen _alone_ with Cornelia." He shook his head and clenched his teeth hard. "When I installed it, I thought I saw... something, but then we captured Lyde and... I got distracted." He kicked another brick and it crumbled on impact, the larger pieces sailing into the crater and disappearing into the shadow.

"We couldn't have known, Nikola." She replied softly. Limping back over to him, she reached out and gently touched his arm.

Grinding his teeth together and not meeting her eyes, he jerked out a nod. He shouldn't care about the soldiers anyway. They had been trying to kill or capture him. Sure, they hadn't done any damage to him directly, that had all been Lyde and Cornelia, but they surely would have, given the opportunity. Their shots at he and Helen was evidence enough of that. He knew he should be glad that they were gone, but damn him if the loss of so much life didn't still sting. He'd kill to protect himself. He'd kill to protect Helen or even her team that followed her around like little lost puppies. He might even kill to protect an experiment or in anger, but _this._ This was just...

"How many do you think survived the blast?" Helen interrupted his thoughts before he could really spiral into the unpleasant cycle of blaming himself, doing him another service that earned his gratitude.

He shook his head. "Dozen, perhaps there's hope enough for two but..." He left the sentence hanging unfinished. Hooking a hand down around her waist, he started helping her hobble the way to the far side of the crater. "Most were still in or near the house. Those still close enough must have been brought even closer by the momentary reaction of the shield. That was my original plan..." He stopped speaking, scowling straight ahead.

"Only perverted beyond recognition." She gave his arm a squeeze. "You wanted to _trap_ them, not to kill them. This isn't your fault." They skirted along the very edge of the property, both still casting furtive stares at the destruction caused.

It was like the 1940's all over again. "This wasn't what I made it for." He murmured to her.

"I know." She said back quietly.

-((-))-


	23. Claiming

Author's Note: I am so proud of myself. :) I just wrote three chapters right in a row, pretty much without stopping. You already got the first, this is the second; so I technically already had this done, but I wanted to smooth it out a little. It's still rough but I feel too charged to fix it further. I may come back and alter it a little. Expect the next one really soon! Love you awesome reviewers! Thanks so much!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Claiming

"Nikola, we need to get out of here." Helen's voice was still hushed as she tugged lightly on his arm and shoulder. "It's time to leave."

"Not really the plan." A strained voice spoke up from the darkness behind them.

They spun together to see who had spoken, Nikola practically lifting Helen up to help her limp to the side. Her grip on his shoulder tightened, eyes wide as she stared ahead. She was afraid.

The bent and singed brush created a wall of shadow in front of them, but a figure had detached from it.

He growled as it became clear a large gun was in its hand, pointed directly at their heads. Immediately, he moved out from under Helen's arm to put himself in front of her. He felt her wobble slightly without his support, but she managed to remain on her feet as she hobbled a crooked turn the rest of the way around. He could see her eyes narrow into a menacing glare out of the corner of his eye.

"Lyde." She hissed.

Said man limped closer toward them, face becoming clear once he was closer to them.

Nikola snorted. "Just great, another idiot with a gun." He said snidely, speaking over his shoulder to Helen but not bothering to lower his voice. Anger pulsed through his system as he barely made out a devilish smile appearing on the man's face. He forced his tone into lightness, but was still well aware of the man's steady gaze and tight hold on the weapon pointed at them. "You're looking remarkably well. I swear, Helen, we seem to be getting further and further out of date. Seems falling off a roof just isn't what it used to be."

"Holding onto you gave me enough time to grab the rope I'd already secured. I guess you were a bit too distracted to notice."

"Ah, yes, I suppose I was." He flipped a hand, trying for nonchalance. "And I also suppose the soldiers were more interested in the show that Helen and I were putting on than in noticing you slip away." He eyed the armed man up and down and smiled sharply. "So, _Lyde..._ what exactly _is_ the plan? Your partner's dead, but she _did_ manage to sabotage the device I used. Bravo to her. For whatever reason you so desperately wanted to keep me and my inventions out of those peoples hands-" Grimly, he gestured around. "-it worked. "

"I'm not remotely done with you." Lyde smiled wider and shifted to the side, beginning to circle them. "Switching the wires was only the beginning."

"Ah," Nikola held up a hand and shook a finger at the man. "I wondered exactly what it was that Cornelia did to cause this kind of reaction. Clever little shrew."

"What, Nikola?" Helen grabbed his arm to steady herself as he sidled around in sync with the man, trying to keep himself between her and Lyde, upsetting her precarious balance in the process.

"Have you ever put a car battery in backwards?" He asked over his shoulder to her, not taking his eyes from Lyde's smirking face.

"No." Her tone held a note of suppressed, incredulous laughter. "You have?"

"On purpose." He growled, barely resisting the urge to give her a disgusted look. "It causes a very... _intense_ reaction; like an explosion. All they had to do was switch the wires and I was none the wiser... at least until it was turned on."

Helen's tone was burning with anger as she turned her words toward Lyde. "Do you have any idea how many people you have killed?"

"That was the idea." He growled back. "But our stopping those monsters was just a _part_ of the plan. It may have succeeded, but that's not going to stop _you_ from making more. Or from giving even more dangerous inventions over to tyrants just like those men." He spat in the direction of the crater to his right.

Nikola felt Helen surreptitiously taking out her gun and silently agreed with her assessment that the man was becoming too unstable for continued conversation. They weren't going to talk their way out of this.

Lyde's available hand reached behind his back as he kept circling them.

Tensed, but continuing to shift, Nikola tried to keep Helen behind him, doing his best to shield her from view as he felt her silently readying her gun.

The man's face twisted into a horrible smirk Nikola could see despite the gloom. "You're too dangerous to let you just get away. Your blasted inventions always cause more harm than good. No more!" His voice rose to a cracking shout. "I'll stop you, no matter the cost." Then his finger pulled the trigger.

Moving fast, Nikola tried to shove Helen and himself out of it's path. The bullet grazed across his shoulder instead and, letting loose a pained yell, he stumbled, knocking against Helen even as she fired her own weapon.

The man's answering yell was satisfying in the extreme but behind Nikola, Helen teetered and started to fall. He placed a hand on the ground to stop his fall and tried to catch at her with the other.

Lyde's other hand had already shot out.

With only enough time to spot something coming toward Helen, Nikola tried to intercept, but he wasn't fast enough. The thing that had been aimed for her stomach slammed into her bad shoulder as she toppled to the ground. Before he could react any further or see the thing, they hit the ground heavily and a shock of strong electricity passed through his system from the hand he had in contact with Helen's skin. He could barely hear her scream as her body arched beneath him. A tingling sting flowed through him, but it did no more than blind his senses for a second. He was starting to push through, to shake it away, but then something struck him from the side, bowling him over into the ash. Whatever had hit him sliced through his skin as it buried itself into his side. A strained growl escaped him, eyes darkening, claws growing, teeth sharpening, and strength surging through him so he could ignore it and immediately raise his head. He looked up in time to see Helen's spasming form go limp, breath leaving her lungs and not reentering. For a second he lay on the ground, gasping in pain, staring at her unmoving body and chanting internally for her chest to move, even a little.

It didn't, as more slow seconds ticked by. No, it couldn't be. Not her. Not like this. He sensed more than saw Lyde staggering an approach toward them. "Helen!" It came out a panicked, primal, violent snarl of pain that had nothing to do with whatever was jutting from his side. Ignoring the protest from his injury, Nikola clawed his way up to his feet and unsteadily tackled the man. One hand closed around the man's throat. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to sink his fangs into the guy's neck, only his promise to Helen and his distaste at the thought of this man's tainted blood getting anywhere near his mouth holding him back from it.

Apparently, the man didn't share his repulsion. Lyde bit Nikola's arm ferally, using his jerk backward to roll them over.

Striking out hard, Nikola's fist connected with the man's abdomen and sent him flying off of him. He scrambled back up to his feet, only to see Lyde do the same, struggling to breath. He lifted another weapon. Time seemed to slow down again.

Nikola felt odd, staring at the weapon aimed at his head. So, this was how he was going to die. He had to admit, he could think of better ways to go. And his Helen... she deserved so much more than this. So much more than to die dragged into his mess.

"Do that, and it will be the last thing you ever do."

Nikola started. Behind Lyde, Helen had risen up to her knees, pointing her gun at the man. She was pale as a ghost and he could hear her breath rattling in her chest all the way from from where he was crouching, but she was alive. Relief swept through him so strong, he almost passed out, steadying himself only by remembering the threat Lyde still posed.

The man had frozen at the sound of Helen's threatening hiss, face suddenly a mask of barely controlled fear as he tilted his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. His voice shook as he spoke up. "Why?" He huffed out a few unsteady breaths.

Almost smiling, Nikola realized the man was barely standing. The injuries gave him a dark sense of satisfaction. He made to take a step forward, but Lyde's eyes glared at him and he thought better of it. For now.

"Why are you doing this? Because he's your friend? You think you owe him something?" Lyde spat out the words. "You don't owe him anything! Do you have any idea what those people have done to mine? What they could have done with his work? Do you have any idea what what your _friend_ has done?"

Nikola felt his heart still, eyes flickering over to look at her, but Helen didn't answer. Her arm was shaking, weaving a little, listing slightly to the side as though she was losing focus of the situation... or was pondering what the man was saying. He swallowed uncertainly, heartbeat picking up double-time. Was she really listening? If Helen really thought he was a monster...

"Why protect him?" The man shouted, shaking the weapon pointed at him. "He's a damn vampire, for pete's sake!"

Helen shook her head, as though clearing it. "Yes." She answered calmly, cocking her gun and lifting it to point at the man's head. "But he's _my_ vampire, you see."

Torn and surrounded on both sides, Lyde made a split second decision and turned his body, grabbing something in his shirt and firing his weapon. He missed by a bare millimeter.

Before Helen could fire, or Lyde could harm Helen again, Nikola crouched low and rushed at him. His claws sunk into soft flesh, his strength making it as easy as splitting an overripe fruit. Breathing hard, he watched as the man fell silently to the ground, dead before he hit. He stared down at him without remorse, senses burning they were so strong, part of him reveling in the fall of his enemy. Angrily, he tore what appeared to be a sharp spearhead from his side and threw it at the man's body in disgust. Then his eyes trailed up and found Helen.

She made only a soft, muffled sound as she too collapsed.

Nikola sprinted over to her, skidding to his knees by her head. Looking her over quickly, he saw she was covered in a thin sheen of perspiration, her limbs shaking so terribly she was almost blurring around the edges. More blood had stained her clothing, flowing up into the crease of her neck from the three small, interconnected spikes still embedded in her shoulder. It had already stained her hair a darker color. As he touched the flesh around her new injury, she whimpered out a moan, tears leaking down the sides of her face into her hair. Without thinking about it, he gently pried the gun from her hand and made to toss it to the side, but something stopped him. Looking closer, he realized the clip was completely empty. Shocked, his eyes flickered back to Helen as the weapon slipped from his fingers.

Dear lord, she had been bluffing. She'd used the last of her strength to bluff Lyde into distraction.

Now frantic, he grabbed under her arms as gently as possible and pulled her upper body into his lap. He didn't dare remove the thing in her shoulder; she really couldn't afford to lose any more blood. He bent his head into her, holding her tightly but carefully. "Don't you ever do that again." He breathed against her neck, feeling her uneven heartbeat pulse reassuringly against his cheek.

"Sorry." She gasped, coughing a little. "You-You're hurt."

"I'll be okay." He chuckled, lifting up to look in her eyes. Dark blue shimmered back at him. "Your blood is more revitalizing than you give yourself credit for." He forced a smirk onto his face that felt as fake as the one she was trying to conjure up. To be honest, he felt terrible, his side burning, but he was much better off than she was so he wasn't going to complain.

"Lyde?" Her voice was tremulous at best. She obviously hadn't managed to see what happened.

"Angering a vampire." He said darkly in response. "Never a good idea."

Clutching his arm tight for support against her shaking and for apparent reassurance, Helen closed her eyes and let out a soft chuckle of understanding in between gasps for air and muffled sobs.

He clutched her tighter, rejoicing in the life still gloriously flowing through her veins. Never again, he swore. Never again would he let this happen to her because of him. That was a promise as strong as his vow not to feed on humans. He thought briefly about the safe house almost five miles away, about how he was going to have to carry Helen that far before he could call her people for a medical transport extraction and how long she could last without help. Fear threatened to take over then, his mind running over all the horrible things that could still go wrong. But with her finally safe in his arms again, he took just a minute to savor her scent, her soft feel, her beautiful eyes as she looked up at him and the sound of her labored breath moving in and out of her lungs.

She was alive and he had never been more grateful for anything in his life.

-((-))-


	24. Treating

Author's Note: And number three! - sorry it took longer than I expected to post. My internet stopped working. And I didn't really edit it but...

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Treating

The chuttering sound of the spinning blades over his head made Nikola feel as though he was in some sort of horrendous nightmare. Especially with Helen's blood sliding down his arm as he cradled her limp, unconscious body to his chest. Her pale face was close to his, just so he could feel her breath and know she hadn't slipped away from him yet. A man leaned out as he approached to motion them inside the waiting helicopter quickly. Carefully, as though handling a small injured bird, he laid Helen's unmoving form down on the gurney that lay just inside the sliding door and climbed in behind.

The medic signaled to the pilot, then began working, removing Helen's shirt from where Nikola had tied it up around the three spikes in her shoulder to stem the blood loss.

Chest aching sharply, he watched for a moment as the practiced hands cleared away the clotting blood to get a look at the wound, but he finally had to turn away from the prone figure, unable to watch her being handled in such a clinical way. Like the life laying before them wasn't the most precious thing in the world, when it was; to him, to everyone she came into contact with. She was a force to be reckoned with, with a heart stretched to the breaking point in order to encompass the world. He would crack if he had to watch. Instead, he focused on the ground shrinking away as they climbed higher into the air and the way the floor tilted beneath them slightly as they changed direction. Try as he might, however, even then he could feel everything that was happening in the tiny cab, hyper aware of Helen's shallow breathing below the thundering noise of the machine.

So, when her eyes fluttered open, he was right in the middle of glancing back her way. Their eyes met and a small, tired smile appeared on her ashen features. Like she had anything to be smiling about right now with a man pressing gauze against her wounds and strapping monitors to her skin. A small movement drew his eyes down. The fingers of her just her left hand stretched out his way weakly, the rest of her body unable to emphasis the movement. Spotting the tiny crinkle in her brow, he leaned closer, unconsciously took her hand, and squeezed it gently in reassurance that he was still by her side. Still waiting... still petrified.

When they arrived at the nearest Sanctuary, setting down gently on the helipad located on the roof, he was forced to release her as people swarmed to carry her into the building and to a waiting OR. All he could do was trail behind and watch helplessly as the medical staff worked.

A lead was placed in her chest, a pacemaker or some such thing wired directly to her heart to regulate her too erratic rhythm. People in masks and gowns flurried past, monitoring readouts and handling the ultrasound the doctor was using to guide his movements. They hung bags of blood for transfusion, sliding needles into her good arm and taping them in place. He felt sick to his stomach when they finally pulled the spikes from her shoulder, her flesh seeming to cling to them as though reluctant to let go of the new intrusion. Blood flowed out thicker from it than before till they began packing it with gauze, tying bleeds, and applying stitches. Her leg was unbound, cleaned and resown, then bandaged again with great care. The same with her wrist, though the doctor remarked at the strange marks, the skin torn in an irregular pattern. Still standing against one wall, Nikola flushed hotly at that. Her right arm was placed in a sling, presumably to protect both stitched injuries to that side.

It was then that she was moved again.

His heart stuttered to a halt right along _with_ hers, stopping just for a split second as they detached the machine from the primary muscle. For a moment, it seemed like they weren't going to do anything about it. The doctors and nurses were unconcernedly examining the flat line, several brows scrunched up in confusion and it took all his self control not to shove them aside and start CPR himself. At last, the machine was reattached and he could breathe again seeing the blips of her heartbeat on the screen. The doctors started calling for tests Nikola didn't know the meaning of, examining burns on the bottoms of her feet where the electricity had flowed from her body and talking about internal damage, which admittedly would explain why she couldn't be taken off the pacemaker yet. Strange words ending in -ryhthmia and cardiogram, echoed harshly in his ears nonetheless. Part of him knew what they meant, but not the conscious part. Her cheeks began to regain some of their color, though she was still too pale for his liking. At least she was finally stabilizing, he told himself.

Another doctor suddenly came to stand in front of him, blocking his view of Helen and demanded that he receive medical attention. He resisted in a distracted way until the woman finally agreed to let him stay in the same room as Helen while they helped him. She insisted on placing a bandage on his arm where the bullet had torn through his skin, despite his protests that he was a _vampire_ and therefore had no need for it. At least she listened attentively as he told her how to recreate a passable replica of the his blood substitute serum. The mix didn't turn out too badly either, he mused as he finally was able to settle down with it in a chair beside Helen's bed, the room blessedly still at last. After everything that had happened, from the harpoon to the chest to carrying Helen to safety, his medicine tasted incongruously good to him. He downed an inordinate amount before finally being sated, leaning back into the chair in exhaustion. There was no doubt in his mind he could stay sitting there for days, unmoving, simply resting his tired body. His arm wandered up to hover over the wires and tubes jutting from just under her left collar bone. Trailing a hand down Helen's arm, he gripped her cold hand in his and closed his eyes. The steady beep of the monitor attached to her body was quietly reassuring, telling him she was still Helen. She was still fighting.

He glanced around covertly. With the room finally empty and no one watching for the moment, he smiled softly at her, allowing his tenderness for her to leach into the expression. Then, growing sleepy and still very sore, he climbed onto the edge of the bed. Trying to be careful of the multitude of wires she had running from her arm and chest, he scooted up close to her and curled into her side, hoping her eyes would open soon and glare toward him for invading her personal space with that hint of a tease and promise twinkling in them. Hoping her tests came back clear of permanent or internal damage. He shuddered slightly. They_ had _to come back clear.

-((-))-


	25. Leaving

Author's Note: So, I was able to get everything working on my end again. I found and uploaded the edited version of the last chapter but nothing much has changed so you definitely don't have to go back and read it or anything. It's just there for my own sanity really. As always, thank you for the reviews! And enjoy...

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Leaving

Light filtered in through the gauzy curtains, painting everything in Helen's bedroom a warm golden hue. It glowed on the pale expanse of her bare back and the dark locks of hair splayed over the off-white pillow, clearly sending warmth through her body that had been steadily relaxing her further into sleep for more than a few hours. Much needed hours, he knew.

There was a lazy silence in the afternoon air, thick and echoing all at once. Outside, not even a slight breeze disturbed the dark tree leaves. The sound of their collective breathing was the only disturbance, hers barely audible with her face pressed into her pillow and her fist tucked close to her lips. Gazing at her in rapt attention once again, Nikola was struck by just how beautiful she was with her expression softly relaxed in sleep. It eased all the lines of worry and fatigue, all the haunted thoughts her eyes were capable of expressing. Sleep _transformed_ her; changing her back into the old Helen. The one that had existed... before. He took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out with a gentle shake of his head as his thoughts strayed back over the course of the last few days. So close. It had been _so __very_ close.

Almost four days had passed since he had carried her unconscious form to that tumble-down little shack with a satellite phone hidden under the rotted floorboards so he could contact her people for help. The two days of tests and treatment at that Sanctuary hospital had inched by, with her strapped to a temporary pacemaker for most of the duration to return her erratic heartbeat to it's normal rhythm. She had been, and in fact still _was_, on strong antibiotics in case of infection in the lead threaded into her chest. Even after it was finally removed, she hadn't been allowed out of bed for fear of a decline in her health. Because of this, when she finally awoke, her movements had been limited. Her condition had been under constant observation. Which he had helped the doctors enforce firmly despite her attempts at convincing them she was 'fine', and which she didn't seem to particularly appreciate.

Nothing could have shadowed the flood of relief and love that had tingled up through his body when her eyes had fluttered open to look at him. He could have lost himself in those eyes. He'd stayed in a haze of euphoria by her side, watching over her and trying to keep her spirits up. But she _had_ seemed only dimly aware of everything around her. All her actions and words had been slurred with fatigue. He knew, over all, she had gotten off lucky despite the rolling nausea, tingling, and muscle spasms she'd suffered.

It eased his worry when the doctor had at last deemed her stable enough for the journey and she had been transferred back to her home Sanctuary. Despite her progress though, Nikola had remained concerned right up until yesterday in the late afternoon. He knew for certain she was going to be okay when she had finally dragged herself out of her drugged fog to slap his hand away from stealing the pudding cup the hairy butler had brought for her to eat. He'd stared at her in shock for a long time before smiling wide into her twinkling eyes.

It took all of her patience to remain in the infirmary for a whole day without protest. He could tell just by looking at her. Frankly, he'd been impressed by her restraint. Her old hairy friend had refused to release her last night, despite her insistence. It was only after she had kept up a constant protest that she was finally allowed to retire to her own rooms just this morning and had promptly fallen deeply asleep, sprawled out on her stomach. At last, she had a clear path to recovery.

Straightening up from his casual lean on one of the windowsills, he strolled slowly up to the foot of the bed on silent feet. He felt so much more like himself, strong and refreshed, dressed in a brand new suit that trimmed out his lean figure nicely. There was no lingering pain, no ache present in his chest. In fact, he felt like he could swim the English Channel, just like Matthew Webb had all those years ago on a bet. The unrelenting bugger. How he and Nigel had gotten into trouble for that one! He still maintained that they had only been joking and hadn't expected the man to take it so seriously.

He smiled in gentle memory, his feeling of well being increasing as he shifted over to the side of Helen's bed and got an even better angle to view her rising chest. Slowly, he bent and kissed her cheek. It was barely a brush of his lips against her flesh. For a millisecond, he allowed himself to relish in the soft tickle of her hair on his chin and the warmth of her supple skin. She didn't stir in the slightest, even as he lingered, smiling down at her for all the world like he held a part of that precious life reflected in his heart.

Then he finally stepped back, tugged his suit jacket to button it closed, turned about on his heel and walked out the door.

-((-))-


	26. Missing

Author's Note: Okay, you guys are cute. Like- really cute. Be calm, my lovely reviewers, calmé.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Missing

Helen's POV-

The once heavy and thick silence in her bedroom, now muted by the cloak of darkness, was disturbed as Helen started awake. Eyes fluttering open blearily, she gasped out a cry quiet enough that it barely made to her ears, but she still turned to further muffle it into her pillow on instinct. Deeply shaken and disoriented, she panted short breaths into the soft fabric of the pillow case, trying desperately to shake the disturbing dream that still clung to the edges of her mind. Her heart continued to race quickly inside her chest, beating out a strong and unsteady rhythm that she could feel tingling in her fingertips. Unsure if she really _was_ awake or still dreaming because of the fuzziness smothering her from her pain killers, she pressed said digits into her eyes and tried to push the raging fear away. Eventually, her body lost some of its rigidity and relaxed. Once she was calmer and her heart slowed down so that it wasn't aching so acutely, she removed her hand and started blinking rapidly at the dark shadows near her head. Her back was chilled, the thin layer of sweat cooling rapidly exposed to the cold air. She found herself wishing for a blanket to be draped over her upper body. It was only then that it crossed her mind to wonder at the fact that no one had come to her side; not a single person that could reassure her that she was, indeed, back in reality. As the thought took hold, her breath caught in her throat on a lump and her ears strained. It was so very quiet.

Her senses picked up no movement, not even the soft stir of sleeping breath. Immediately, she knew without looking that there was no one else in the room. She found that fact just as disquieting as her nightmare. It was the first time she had ever woken alone when she managed to struggle up from her deep sleep and the fog of medication.

Almost instantly on edge, she turned her head to get a better look. Night had fallen outside. Stars twinkled in the black velvet of the sky and a small outside light illuminated the room in a dull sort of way. She couldn't help but groan as she shifted. Laying on her stomach was more comfortable for her aching shoulder and chest, but far less so for her leg. Using mostly her left arm, she lifted the top of her body slightly, feeling the gentle ache in her spine as it arched upward. It had been a eventful few weeks, to put it mildly, and her body was feeling the full strain. Memory of the emergency helicopter ride was hazy at best for her. There was a vague impression of a hand holding hers, but nothing more. She had lost consciousness several times, fading in and out like an old radio with a bad connection. Her hospital stay had been trying, confined to a bed and pumped full of drugs, but Nikola's presence had made it bearable. A presence she now felt lacking.

She lowered her head and swung it back and forth slowly to clear it. A quick peek at the clock showed that it was rather late, which was confirmed by the churning inside of her empty belly. Straying from the tiny red lights, her eyes alighted on the chair where she had last felt Nikola's hovering concern, only to find it was indeed empty. Twisting her hips, she turned her body so she could sit up, the covers around her hips sliding down her thighs. The movement exposed her leg wound, the doctors signature of knotting clear, the cross-stitching looking dark against the paleness of her surrounding skin. But after a second of staring at them, she lifted her eyes again. She waited for a heart-stopping moment, hardly breathing. The silence held and a hollowness crept unbidden up into her chest. A vice formed around her throat. Leaning back, propped up by her good arm, she bowed her head. She couldn't have said how she knew that he hadn't simply stepped out of the room, but she could _feel_ it. In the air, in her body; In her heart. It took all her strength to fight off her irrational tears as they bit at the corners of her vision, chest beginning to ache again in response.

He hadn't even said goodbye.

She shook her head viciously. Stupid, that's what she was. Stupid and silly. He couldn't stay here forever, in this room... by her side. Of _course_ he was gone and _of course_ he hadn't said goodbye. He had stayed far longer than was normal for him and he had _never_ said goodbye before, why should he start now? It wasn't like she wasn't going to see him ever again either. They always came back into each others lives, whether they intended to or not. They'd see each other again...they had to, didn't they? It was as Cornelia had said, they were there for each other in crises, and heaven knew they always had plenty of those. This was just his usual MO. He was always here one moment, the next, gone without a word. It made sense, she tried to tell herself. Time rolled on by differently for them than the rest of the world. It had since 1886, when they had taken the serum made from the source blood. There was no reason to-

A tear slipped from her damp lashes and slid down her cheek. Disgusted with herself, she sat up again, scrubbed it from her face, and then flung the covers away. She carefully swung first one leg, then the other over the side of the bed, took a moment to push down the answering wave of nauseating pain and stood. A hiss passed her lips as the still tender contact burns on the bottoms of her feet met the usually soft rug on the hardwood. After a minute of teetering though, she grit her teeth against it and slowly walked over to her closet, using passing furniture to help her keep her shaking body upright. The spark of anger gently simmering in her gut gave her fuel to turn on a light and yank the wardrobe open. She was tired of hospital gowns, tired of being fussed over, tired of Nikola's soft voice gently teasing her for sleeping so much and in such a skimpy nightgown, tired of smiling at him as he did his best to distract her and make her feel better. She was just... so damn tired.

Taking a shaky yet steadying breath, she viciously shoved down any more tears and buried her hurt in anger. Movements sharp and sudden, she tore an outfit from a hanger and started to dress herself. It took her almost an hour to do it properly and sapped her of all her strength, but eventually she managed to pull on a suitable ensemble. Standing before her full length mirror, dressed in a neat suit that downplayed the bruising sneaking up her collar bone and throat, she felt once again like she was protected from the world. The sling she'd had to slip around her right arm slightly spoiled the effect, but she still looked imposing and it gave her hope that it would also protect her against her own pain. Her hair didn't look very good, she observed, but it was the best she could do with one arm. As she stared into her own eyes, she felt like maybe she really _could_ survive the world falling out from underneath her feet. She had done it before; many times, in fact. Surely this was no different. Surely.

-((-))-


	27. Numbing

Author's Note: I know. :) I'm not completely happy with this chapter... but now I'm kind of annoyed by it, so it's your turn to tell me what _you_ think.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Numbing

Helen's POV-

She felt strangely hollow. Back at work for the first time since her return to her own Sanctuary, it was odd to be sitting behind her desk again. It was almost as though she had never been gone. Worse yet, Helen knew her heart wasn't really in the work before her as it should be. Done on route, her movements were empty of emotion or thought, her pen sliding fluidly over the paper in front of her in a mindless fashion. It amazed her that it could manage to move without her prompting. At least she seemed to be doing the work correctly, for all the fact that she couldn't seem to concentrate more than a small portion of her mind on any of it.

Three days had passed since she'd shaken off her pain and the enshrouding stupor surrounding her body. Since then, her injuries themselves were doing a great deal better. She'd been able to reduce the dosage on her pain killers down to a manageable level. They still gave her an unsettled stomach, but she was grateful not to be knocked out every time she took them now. The stitches had been removed from her leg and wrist, the skin a dark pink and still tender from healing together. She no longer needed to wear a sling round her right arm unless she was going to be walking for a long period of time, though she'd had to favor the limb considerably to keep it from screaming at her in protest. Thankfully, in just a few short days the stitches in her shoulder would be removed and she would no longer have to subject herself to letting someone else do her checkups.

Signing her name, she flipped the finished document onto the growing stack of completed work and then paused. Her right arm was trembling. Holding the edge of the desk, her fingers turned white as she attempted to still the limb. That only made it worse. She sighed gustily, letting her arm drop. It was only to be expected, she told herself. She was tired and sore and at the moment wishing that her bedroom was more appealing to her since...

There had been no word from, or even about, Nikola; not since she had woken up alone.

After a pause to take a deep, cleansing breath, her left hand wandered over to the side of her desk. Lifting the phone to her ear, she listened with only half her mind as someone began speaking, vaguely wondering if the device had even rung out it's shrill call before she'd picked it up. She couldn't remember hearing it. When the sound of the door opening suddenly distracted her, she glanced toward it. She barely registered who was entering, smiled faintly in greeting, and shifted her hold on the receiver before her scattered thoughts drifted once more. The tea tray rattled noisily as her old friend set it down near her left arm, steam wafting gently into the air and tinting what she pulled in through her nose with the scent of rose hips. Her hand automatically reached out, took up a teacup, and lifted it to her lips, floating memories prompting actions she neither understood nor cared about right now. That was the trouble, really. She just couldn't force herself to care; as though _she_ was floating, lost in a place with no gravity and no substance. Over and over again, she told herself it could simply be because of the pain killers she was still on. It _was_ a possibility.

She took a sip of the tea. The past few days she had had endure the concerned stares and lingering gestures from her colleagues and friends. Henry had returned just the previous night, made sure she was healing well, and then with one look at her face had volunteered to double check every system they had if she would go get some sleep. She'd chuckled faintly and reluctantly agreed. After all, there was no need to waste an opportunity presented to her for a complete systems overview done without complaint. At least she wasn't being peppered with a barrage of questions she didn't want to think about, much less answer. Will was still away in Juarez, enjoying his conference, blissfully unaware that she had even been to hospital. As for Kate, the young woman merely did as she was told and kept away from _all_ possibly sore subjects. Even she stared a bit though, as if wondering if the woman in front of her was going to break down or something equally as disconcerting.

Helen registered her old friend grunting softly her way, watching her as she took another gentle sip of the almost too hot liquid in her hand. _He_ seemed as unwilling to comment as he always was, but had been bringing her all her meals personally and waiting around till he saw her take at least a little into her mouth. His hovering was making her teeth itch which, coupled with her unpredictable pain, was an intensely uncomfortable feeling. When she took another long sip, he finally grunted again and turned to leave. The tension gradually leaked out of her body as the door closed behind him.

Hemming out an acknowledgment through to the other end, she shifted the phone from one ear to the other, switching hands again as her right one had already begun to ache. She settled back in her chair and actually let the tea sooth her temperamental stomach as it was supposed to. At long last, the person on the other end of the call had said their fill and she was able to hang up. Just to be sure she didn't forget- for right now, she didn't really care to remember what the person had been saying- she wrote down the purpose of the call with one hand and slid the edge of the paper under the phones base to keep it close. Swiveling in her chair slowly, she looked out the window, continuing to sip at her tea. It was very dark outside, almost oppressively so. There was no moon tonight and the slight cloud cover managed to even block out the stars. She shivered and hurriedly downed the rest of her tea to chase the sensation away.

Now sporting a slightly singed tongue, she flicked a glance at her desk to confirm that she _had_ gotten quite a lot of work done today, despite her lack of concentration. Even just sitting here seemed to have leeched the energy right out of her. She wondered if she could retire now without it seeming too out of character. It _was_ pretty late, and she _had_ been admonished not to stay up, as was her usual. It had been quickly followed by the sound of the person who had said it scuttling from the room, but they had thought it deserving of a mention nonetheless. Standing decisively, Helen did her best to ignore the tinge of nausea that slid up her spine to the back of her throat in the process. She refilled her teacup and then carried it and a thick file from the room.

Her bedroom was cold, a slight chill radiating from the windows. So, after she toed off her heels next to the bed and set her cup and file on the small tea table, she set about the task of lighting a fire in the fireplace. That done, she replaced the grate and washed her hands before settling down in a high-backed chair to finish her drink. Tucking her feet together and gracefully under her chair, she occupied herself with a well thumbed book. The crackling of the fire and the slight rattle of the windows in the wind picking up outside, were her only companions. There was nothing to distract her. Yet, for all that, she didn't even remember the words she saw. She read an entire page before realizing she hadn't absorbed a bit of it.

There was no telling how long she sat there trying to read, but finally the last bit of tea was consumed and she tucked the unappreciated book away for another night when she could actually comprehend the written word. To prepare for bed, she slipped on a long black nightgown that left her arms bare and bent to wash her face clear of her make-up. The noise of the rushing water blocked out the sound of a hesitant knock and of her bedroom door opening and closing again quietly. After drying, she moved into the bedroom and sat on the edge of a chair before the mirror. Taking up her hairbrush, she made to bring it up to her head to sweep away the snares from the day. She hissed as the movement pulled at her tender scars and lowered the brush immediately, gritting her teeth against the sharp ensuing ache. Her medications were still in her washroom, untouched and forgotten in her nightly routine. "Bleeding stitches." She grumbled, rubbing around the offending wound just under her collar bone. Stealing herself, she raised the brush again to do it quickly and get it over with.

Soft fingers slid over hers to grip round the silver handle.

Letting out a startled yelp, she snatched her hand back and away. About to turn, she froze completely at the sight reflected to her in her bedroom mirror. Surely, she had fallen asleep while reading and was now dreaming.

Nikola stood behind her, now holding her brush alone, a gentle smile tilting his features.

All at once, she felt the most aching relief and anger ripping through her chest. It was so fierce, she was sure her ribs would cave in at any moment.

Grinning down at her, Nikola's smile turned innocent. "Need some help?"

-((-))-


	28. Wounding

Author's Note: Yay! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. :) Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I won't bore you with too many details of my personal life, as we are all well aware of whose personal lift we are most interested in ;) but my sister's wedding kinda steamrolled everything and...then my grandmother passed away. I just haven't felt like writing since.

But I'm back now, so it's time to wrap this thing up. Should only be one-three more chapters. Let me know if this is too out of character. I'm a little off my game right now.

Plus- Oh, Holy Hannah, this fic broke a hundred reviews! You guys are seriously awesome, thank you so much for all your praise and encouragement.

And yes, Nikola is back! Woot!

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Wounding

Ah, his Helen was always so breathtaking. Even with exhausted, tired lines around her eyes creating a haggard aura, it only served to make her beauty more real. And possibly heartbreaking. This crushing feeling inside of him was all too familiar, but he welcomed it, for it meant he was really here, beside her again at last. It helped to let him know that he wasn't simply imagining the feel of her soft fingers, even as he brushed his own over them to take the hairbrush from her hand. He couldn't help himself. When she set her jaw like that, it didn't matter how much pain she was in, she was going to finish what she started. He knew her too well not to see this. As much as he enjoyed watching her; her movements always reminding him of a graceful bird in flight, from the graceful curve of her lifted elbow down to the flare of her sumptuous hip; he couldn't just stand back and watch her suffer.

Trying for innocence, he smiled at her surprised expression. "Need some help?" His eyes skimmed down her reflection in the mirror, noting her good color and the removed stitches on her wrist, reassuring himself that she had not come to any new harm during his absence. The realization that she was well sent a wave of crushing relief through him. He had worried for her and missed her with an aching, powerful _need_, like his loneliness was a living thing trying to claw its way out. Her breath was short and ragged with her pain, but he hoped that was merely the hurt of healing.

In the mirror, her eyes turned from large startled orbs to icy blue daggers in 2 milliseconds flat at his gentle offer of assistance. Instead of answering, she jerked her head away from him. "_What_ are you doing here?"

"At the moment, offering to brush your hair out for you." He answered amiably, continuing to smile at her softly, though an uneasiness was starting to crawl its way up the base of his spine.

Helen stood up so quickly she knocked her chair over backward, the offending piece of furniture just barely missing him as he took a quick step to the side. Her arms, clenched at her sides, trembled terribly. The sense that there was something wrong settled heavily on his shoulders as he looked her up and down, fearing maybe he had missed some kind of indicator that her health had deteriorated. However, he didn't have time to ask her. Just as his hand fluttered toward her back, she took a deep breath and turned sedately toward him. "What are you doing in my bedroom, Nikola? What do you want here?"

He blinked at her, worried because she suddenly looked even more exhausted than before. Her voice was quiet and strained, as though facing him was sapping all her strength. However, he tried not to let his concern show. "I knew you would be awake, even at this hour, Helen. I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay."

"Oh." She smiled then, but in a way that did nothing at all sooth his unease. "So you suddenly care now?" The last came out bitterly.

"I-" He tried to speak, but she cut him off, striding past him.

"Well, I'm _fine_ Nikola. You don't need to feign concern for my well-being."

"It's not feigned." He said simply, at a loss and not sure what else to say but to blurt the truth in her direction as she walked away.

"Right." She said over her shoulder scathingly, reaching up and pulling a robe down off a hook. Before she could put it on though, he frowned and took a step forward to grab the garment. "Will you let me explain?" He asked quietly.

"There's nothing to explain." Rather than fight him for it, she dropped her hold on the robe. "I understand perfectly." Her deadpan made him feel nauseous.

He stepped closer. "No, I don't think you do." He lifted his hand to touch her.

"_Don't_."

There was such shaking venom in her soft hiss that he rocked back on his heels away from her. Okay, less like a graceful bird right now and more like an angry snake.

Taking her eyes from him, she made as though to storm past him.

"Helen, I-"

"No!" She hurled back at him, rounding so sharply he stumbled, for he had been about to follow her.

He swallowed reflexively on seeing the tears trembling on the edges of her eyelashes.

"No. You do not get to just come back here, all smiles and arrogance and sarcasm." She growled, poking a finger into his chest. " With all you put me through, I was well within my rights to _shoot_ you in some very uncomfortable places, and right now, I've a mind to do just that! So just... stop." Her hands raised as if to ward him off. She looked incredibly vulnerable in that moment, like only the distance between them was holding her together. With what appeared to be a great effort, she reined herself back under control to continue more evenly. Her voice was still strained though and she wouldn't meet his eye, instead staring at his shoulder as though her eyes could bore a hole through him to match the one still healing on her. "You have a lot of nerve to expect any kind of welcome from me right now. Since you seem _intent_ on being an ass, no matter what, you could at least do me the courtesy of staying the _hell_ away from me so that I may walk around my _own sanctuary_ with my dignity somewhat intact."

"Look," He started, tilting a hip away from her so the he could properly get an air of pomposity in with his sincerity. He had a reputation to protect. "- I'm sorry that I didn't write but I wasn't gone that lo-"

"Enough is enough, Nikola!" Her hand reached out and snatched her brush from his hand angrily. "If you want to leave whenever you feel like it, without a word-" Her good arm lifted to make a sweeping gesture at the door with the hairbrush. "-that's your prerogative, but do not just expect me to be waiting around for you with open arms whenever you feel like strolling back into my life. If that is what you want, find one of your trollops for it and leave me be. I have things to do, and no time to stand around wondering when you are coming back."

"I never meant for you to!" He tried to defend himself, but her fury did not abate when he stepped into her personal space. If anything it became more intense. The heat of her anger burned as though he had stepped into a fire in nothing but his skin. He felt just as exposed as if he had.

For a long moment, she simply stared him down, her glare something to behold. She was amazing and bone chilling when she was well and truly angry with him. And right now, her whole body was taut, all the muscles constricted tightly with rage and he couldn't help but let his gaze stray from hers to admire her. It was impossible not to notice how the long black satin night gown she had on hugged her curves and allowed a tantalizingly brief glimpse of her thigh through the slit. Her feet and shoulders were bare and unbidden, his eyes followed the exposed line of her left collar bone before at last returning to her face and steely eyes. He didn't know what to do, how to dig himself out of this hole he was making for his grave. She had a right to be angry and to lash out at him for what he had done. It had been stupid of him to leave without giving her some kind of message that he would be right back, but he was just so used to not having to. And he was having a hard time talking to her like this. His eyes kept wanting to stray downward again. Habits really were incredibly hard to break. He'd like to see anybody else try breaking one a century old.

Without thinking, he slipped back into another. He gave her the best smile he could come up with under the circumstances, one that was incredibly weak and obviously see-through. "You weren't worried for me, were you?"

Something in her expression snapped and darkened.

He took a very quick and careful step backward. Scratch that, Helen wasn't just a snake. She was a King Cobra, hood flared and arched ready for the strike. It was one of the most frightening things he'd ever seen in his life.

Pointing the brush in his face, she got so close it was almost touching his nose and he could feel her breath on his face. "How dare you." The words proved more frightening for being whispered at him. "How dare you treat this like a joke."

"Hel-en." He whined.

"Don't!" Her tone arched with a high, incredulous pitch. "This isn't a game, Nikola. No more jokes, no more innuendo. No more turning a serious discussion into a farce!" She stepped back and threw the brush to the floor, making him wince at the sharp sound. "You-" She stopped so abruptly, clenching her teeth even harder than before, it sounded as though she might have cracked a tooth. Her gaze dropped to his chin as she tried to rein herself back in again. Biting down on her lip, she drew a single drop of blood that trickled a path part-way down her chin before stopping. Furious tears rimmed her eyes and he could have sworn he could see even her dark pupils trembling. She was breathing hard, shaking at the full force of her own fury.

He tried to draw closer to her again but she abruptly reached out and pushed him away, hard. As he stumbled, she took the opportunity to run past him to the door. Pulling it open and striding from the room, she left him half-laying on a chair with his mouth hanging agape like a fool.

Shaking himself firmly, he took a deep, fortifying breath and got back up to his feet. Then he set off after her.

-((-))-


	29. Cauterizing

Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews, they make me happy! And get the imagination rolling. ;)

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Cauterizing

It wasn't hard to hear the soft padding of Helen's bare feet down the hall and to follow the sound as she wove her way through the corridors to a far more secluded part of the Sanctuary. This late at night the parts of the Sanctuary they passed were deserted and quiet. All for the better. He rounded a corner, saw where she was headed, and almost turned back right then. The Cathedral lay ahead, it's broken, decrepit expanse empty of all life. It was far enough away from anyone and anything that could be disturbed by any shouting, shooting, or other disturbances, that he would have little to no hope of escaping this whole, much less unscathed. Damn, she was really angry with him if she was going there.

After faltering just a little, he straightened his shoulders and continued on. She was worth it. Slipping through the doors, he strode into the middle of the large room.

Helen turned from where she was standing at the very far edge of the cathedral, where pillars jutted up into the sky, holding up a ceiling that no longer existed. Her gaze was blazing, focusing in on his hands so strongly, he wondered that he didn't burst into flame on the spot.

"I never meant to leave you alone." He said and his voice echoed back at him as he stepped toward her.

Her eyes closed, as though the action was reflexive. "Well you did." She opened her eyes and cut to his face.

His stomach dropped instantly.

Anger was hard enough to face, but her expression had morphed into a mask of sorrow. Torment etched it's way over her parted lips, the slight crinkle of her nose and her furrowed brow. It tore at his heart. She was on the verge of letting the tears fall and he was defenseless. Drawing close, he raised his tentative hand again, as though to touch her cheek, but she pulled back abruptly.

"Stop it!" Her voice came out as a wail and she seemed to realize it, pulling herself away even further but also straightening her shoulders with a wince. Face hardening, she practically snarled at him.

He knew her a little too well for her to completely cover up the fear and hurt on her face though. Her usual defenses wouldn't work on him. She had told him herself; when she got really afraid or hurt, she fought back. He braced himself.

"Do you have any idea what it was like to wake up, all alone? To know that you were just... gone? Just like you _always are_. Like all of it meant nothing? Like _I_ meant nothing? That's what you think, isn't it? Just say it!" She shouted. Angrily, she reached out and grabbed his jacket front, shaking him. "I am not a ghost, nor am I a toy for you to trifle or play with! You want to play that game, find someone else because I am through!" She threw him from her.

He staggered back, but said nothing, trying to stifle down the hurt that her words brought.

She scoffed, shaking her head at him. "_Really_ Nikola; who the _bloody_ hell do you think you are? What do you think that I am?" As she blinked, a single tear rolled down the side of her cheek, her chin trembling even harder but she continued to stare at him in the eye searingly as her pain-filled voice lowered to almost inaudibility. "How much do you think I can bury?"

That cut deep, the pain raging through his system before he quickly swallowed it down. He had to do something. She was pulling away from him. Closing herself off, like she always did when things got bad. Panic set in. He couldn't lose Helen. She didn't know it, but sometimes he wondered if he would ever survive without her. Desperately, he reached out quickly and grabbed Helen's hand tightly, clutching her closer.

She tried to pull back immediately, but couldn't pry her fingers from his. When she gave a hard tug it had her gasping in pain as it translated to her opposite shoulder.

Curling her hand around so that she was forced to take a step forward, he finally released the hold on her hand. Softly, he ducked close to her, folding his arms under hers and catching hold of her body gently. He buried his face in her silken hair and whispered so she would barely be able to hear. "I'm sorry."

Frozen in shock, her breath caught in her throat and she didn't even turn her head away from his breath on the bottom of her ear.

He took that as an encouragement. "Don't tell anyone else but...For being a genius, I really can be an idiot."

That made her scoff, even if the sound was chock full of unshed tears.

Smiling into her skin, he continued, still not letting her go. "Do you know how hard it is, just thinking of saying goodbye to you? How it makes my chest hurt far worse than any bullet? Even more than any harpoon ever could?"

Her legs lost a little strength then and she leaned on him slightly to keep herself upright.

His chin settled near the crook of her neck. Lifting a hand, he stroked over her hair as she hung almost completely limp in his arms. "I wasn't thinking; not of how you would feel, or how much it might hurt you too. I'm... not used to having to. You and me, we're so different than anyone else. It'll take some time to adjust. And you know how much I hate goodbyes. They're so... final. I can't imagine what I would do if I never got to see you again. I'm sorry, Helen." He felt her swallow and her eyelids flutter shut against his cheek. "I'm sorry for being a self-absorbed ass. Sorry that I ever made you feel like you- like _we,_ were nothing but a joke. I have never thought that. We are not a game. It's just... defensive. Because... if I ever told you- if you ever knew... just how much I care about you..."

She shuddered convulsively, voice trembling. "What? What would happen Nikola? Would it- Would it really be so bad?"

A shaky laugh left him. "I... I don't know. Would it kill me to tell you how important you are to me? Would it destroy me if you knew...how much I l-love... you're contrariness, your strength, your frailty. Your compassion and determination. Your accomplishments and failures. And not as some kind of _infatuation_. But in the sense that-" He faltered, unable to say any more words. His chest was hammering against his sternum harshly.

Her breath left her in a rush. "Nikola."

He shook himself. "But I swear, I never meant to hurt you. You've saved my life. More in the past weeks than I would ever have imagined. I'd never forget something like that. It would never be _nothing,_ I'm a little too narcissistic for that."

She huffed a laugh, but her body was still shaking, belying how she felt.

It echoed his own trembling heart. He pulled back a little so he could whisper in her ear again, still holding her up. "You could never be nothing." He held her tightly again, almost crushing her ribs in his arms. "This time, at least I really _do_ have a good reason for leaving."

Seconds ticked by and his stomach felt like it dropped to his feet. He wondered if appealing to her honestly when she was in a rage was a bad idea. Then, achingly slow, her arms lifted and her fingers finally gripped onto his shoulders, holding him back. After a careful breath in, she finally responded. "It had better be a _bloody _damn good one, Nikola."

-((-))-


	30. Delivering

Author's Note: Aw, thanks guys. You are all awesome beyond description. This has been so much fun that I'm sorry it's ending. Last chapter... be sure to let me know what you think. Even if it's bad.

Disclaimer: I sort of wish I owned the characters and show, but I don't and they seem to be in capable hands.

Sanctum

-((-))-

Delivering

Nikola chuckled at Helen's tremulous growl and finally pulled away, smiling mischievously at her. She still looked angry enough to kill him, but at this rate, he thought it might at least be a quick death. "Close your eyes." He instructed, taking her hand, the left one this time.

The look she gave clearly said she was tired and still a little disgusted with him and his behavior.

He swallowed and held up a single finger, indicating she needed to be patient just a while longer.

With a sigh, she did as he asked and he started leading her out of the dangerous Cathedral, back into the Sanctuary proper. Hurrying slightly, he guided her along, careful not to let her trip on the long rugs or go astray in the winding ways of the dark corridors. Down the levels they went, past the paintings on the walls and vases on small end tables that decorated her home, all the way to the rear intake area and into the chilly night air. The sky was dark and there was a strong wind picking up, fluttering the hem of Helen's silk nightgown and catching her soft dark curls, sending the locks into a wild dance across the pale skin of her left shoulder.

Nikola felt a clenching in his chest that had nothing to do with his raging anticipation of her reaction. He simply stopped for a second, barely away of the soft click of the door shutting tight behind them and watched her. His hand raised, seemingly of it's own volition and with one delicate finger, he edged the hair back, just barely brushing against her delicate skin.

A soft intake of breath from Helen recaptured his attention to her face. Her eyes were still closed, but she had definitely felt his touch. Her lips pressed together, neck and chest delicately taut, and a quiet noise escaped through her nose. He couldn't tell if he was imagining it, but it sounded a little bit like a suppressed whimper. A hard breath escaped her then and she spoke in a shaky tone. "Nikola?"

Right, he had been doing something. Something incredibly vital to his continued survival. Quickly, he retook Helen's hand and led her down the steps. Sitting in the drive was a van, black and large, which he pulled her up to. "Stay here a second." He let her go and she tottered for a second, but was obedient. He needed to hurry while this lasted. Snapping open the back doors, he swung them wide. A scathing hiss made him back up a step, glaring at what lay within. Then he turned to Helen. "Okay." He said, smug. As her eyes fluttered open, he made a sweeping gesture at the contents. "Ta-da."

The second her eyes focused, her mouth dropped open on a gasp, breath officially stolen.

He allowed himself to preen slightly. "Tell me that isn't more impressive than Muybridge's moving picture show." He said, referencing the time way back in the old days of their friendship, when he and Helen had first seen picture stills flip so fast the horse in them appeared to be flying.

Eyes flicking over to him and back, Helen stepped closer. The creatures in the large cage strapped in the back of the van hissed again, backing away. The leathery skin of their front legs, stretched to their sides so that it resembled a bats wing, drew back to reveal the sickly yellowed edges of their sharp front talons. Poison that both of he and she were greatly familiar with. "Razor Sills?" Her tone was disbelieving.

Nikola gave the unruly creatures a distasteful sneer, keeping well back even as Helen leaned in to get a better look. "Of course Razor Sills." When she looked at him incredulously, he shrugged defensively. "I had to leave the other day because it was already past time for them all to start their hibernation cycles. I couldn't waste any time if I wanted even a chance of finding some that weren't already asleep. Luckily I found a few stragglers that hadn't yet left the migration path."

For the first time since he had arrived, she smiled at him and the effect was dazzling. "So you left to find them for me? You brought them back here, for me?"

He shifted uncomfortably, looking away sulkily. "Annoying little pests. No wonder you had such a hard time with them." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her giving him another look. Grimacing, he put one fist on his hip and looked back at her. "It was sort of my fault that you were so rudely interrupted when trying to capture a few, so I went to do it for you, since you were definitely in no condition to do it yourself. No big deal. Though, if you wanted to find a different way of thanking me, I wouldn't say no." He waggled his brows suggestively, a grin spreading over his lips.

She rolled her eyes, as he had expected her to. Then her expression turned teasing. "What do you mean, 'sort of' your fault?"

He furrowed his brow at her. "Hey, am I responsible for what some crazy nuts are willing to do to have their own way?" He looked her up and down in an exaggerated way.

"If you're trying to infer that I am crazy..." He swallowed as she stepped closer to him. Nikola didn't dare move, feeling like prey caught in the gaze of a predator as her voice slid into a sleek husk. "I shall remind you that I _always_ carry a gun."

Already strained breath catching in his throat, Nikola couldn't help but look down at the less than concealing black night gown. He was indeed impressed if she managed to hide a weapon in _that_, but he wisely decided not to put it past her.

"-and have no qualms about shooting you." She added sharply, seeing his roving eye.

He nodded, managing a smile even though his insides were squirming. "Point well taken."

She inclined her head, smirking slightly in triumph. However, when she looked back at the Razor Sills, her expression turned slightly wistful. "Why can't you ever just let something be a sweet and caring gesture, Nikola?" It wasn't accusatory; she said it as though asking a serious question.

His smile slipped as he regarded her suddenly saddened face. Looking down at his shoes, he mumbled toward them. "I'll deny it if you tell anyone, but... I don't like disappointing you."

"Disappointing me?" She asked, surprised, turning back to him. Her blue eyes, tinted more gray in the dim light, held a gentle sorrow. "Nikola... you only disappoint me when you pull away from me. When you deflect by trying to distract me." Stepping toward him, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before he realized what she was doing.

He stood, stunned into immobility.

"Thank you, Nikola." She said quietly. "For everything."

Blushing slightly, he nodded.

Her anger returned, luckily mellowed now. "But you need to develop your communication skills... and the next time you run off like that, I _will_ track you down and make you regret it."

"I believe you." He answered sincerely, feeling a little light headed. Lifting a hand to touch his tingling cheek he couldn't help but smile wide. Maybe there was hope for him yet. "I definitely believe you."

-((-))-

P. S.- I rewrote chapters 28, 29, and 30. You can read it if you want, or leave it the way it was originally written.


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